When the Latter Took the Lead
by emberfire411
Summary: They're gone. All six of them. With Selina and the Trix still out there. And Daphne and Roxy to pick up the pieces. [HIATUS]
1. Prologue

**_Note: 1.22.16 - This story is currently on HIATUS_**

* * *

_Prologue_

* * *

By now, it isn't a surprise when the Trix unleash a 'Monster of the Week' back on Earth. Roxy's heard the stories and seen the videos Andy and her parents have sent her. And - perhaps most importantly - Bloom and the rest of the girls are always there to send it back to whatever dark hole it crawled out of. Putting themselves in harm's way and never getting harmed; off to save the day and earn the praise of the magical dimension.

So when there are five, loch ness-type monster spotted off the coast of Honolulu, Roxy doesn't bat an eyelash when she sees the Winx Club heading down the halls towards Faragonda's office, more than ready to defend the world. She doesn't stop to think as the sound of a Red Fountain heliship interrupts Wizgiz and his lecture on morphing into plant life. Nor does she savor the small smile and pat on the shoulder Brandon gives her as he walks by with Stella, discussing how best to confront the situation.

Because they're the Winx Club and the Specialists. That's what they do. What they've always done.

And they've always come back.

* * *

Ten hours later, Honolulu is in shambles. Few people can accurately attest to what's happened, and if they can, they're probably part of the rescue teams searching through the wreckage for survivors. By now, Roxy's made herself comfortable in her room, a vid screen up and playing the latest news coverage. Andy's on the phone, jabbering into her ear about everything he saw and how Rio's family lives on the north side of Oahu and he's taking a plane there right now and he saw Bloom and three other girls in some video footage…

"Slow down, Andy," Roxy waves her hand, knowing perfectly well he can't see her. "What other girls?"

"Three other ones; white, brown, and black hair. They're playing the clip right now on Fox."

Roxy reaches across her bed for the remote, and flips through the channels (Tecna had been a goddess and set it up so she could get the channels from earth). The image on the screen shakes and focuses on three girls opposite of Bloom, dressed in cool colors and far too much eyeshadow. "Those would be the Trix." she says, a small voice starting to ask questions in the back of her head. _What were _they _doing there?_

"Well whoever they are, they're pretty damn powerful. They uprooted a hotel and threw it on Flora. Like, the _whole building_."

"Is she okay?"

There's a notable pause on the other end of the line. "Haven't you asked her?"

"What do you mean have I asked her? They're still back on Earth."

"No they aren't. All the reports say they've returned to the magic dimension. No one can find them here."

The sentence hangs in the air, and all Roxy can do is turn back to the screens. "I heard Brandon and Stella. The plan was to come back in the helicarrier…" no sooner are the words out of her mouth than a new video appears, showing one of the monsters grabbing the ship out of the sky (with sharp teeth that dig into the metal hull and make Roxy's heart rate jump) and slamming it into the ocean multiple times. It breaks apart, small forms thrown into the ocean that look suspiciously like people.

Andy does his best not to say 'I told you so'. "Like I said, those witches pack a punch. Whenever those monsters started losing power, it was like they recharged them. They were getting beat up pretty bad. Everyone thinks Bloom and the girls drew back."

"There's no new information here. Faragonda would've told me." Well, Roxy _hopes_ Faragonda would've told her, but as of late it seems she's only summoned Roxy for animal communication purposes. It's like everyone here forgot she helped saved the world once, too.

"Well then where are they?"

"I don't know!" Roxy snaps. There's a cold sweat starting to go down her back. "Maybe in the search effort?"

"Wouldn't they have said something though?"

"Well they don't always say things. Remember what happened with the Sphinx? The battle was over and they left Egypt without talking to anyone."

"But at least at that point news stations had picked up on their location."

"What are you implying, Andy?"

"I don't know, just...I'm worried."

Roxy wraps her free arm around herself. "Listen, I'm sure everything's fine. They always come back, right?"

Three things happen at once. First, the screen cuts to a video Roxy hasn't ever seen before, of a blonde haired girl dressed in black with a book in her hand. The video's been shot from a distance, but the girl's features are still visible. She's standing a good distance away from the fight, not getting involved, but she's muttering into her book, and when her lips stop energy beams shoot out from it. The camera momentarily follows the energy beams, where the Trix absorb them and in turn use it to feed the monsters power. Secondly, amidst the noise from the television and Roxy's own head trying to piece puzzles together, Andy says in her ear "Isn't that Selina King from middle school?"

And finally, on the vid screen, the footage of Selina cuts to a live recording of first responders pulling Riven's non-responsive body from the ocean.


	2. The Fear We're Falling Apart

**A/N: **I know I called it Domino not Sparx I'm making progress. Also, the quote used in this chapter is from Amit Kalantri. You'll know it when you see it.

* * *

Chapter 1: The Fear We're Falling Apart

* * *

Everyone in the Winx Club is presumed dead in Honolulu. Full bodies are never recovered, but miscellaneous body parts and weapons and wing fragments are. The same fate is given to all the Specialists after their ship is found lodged into a coral reef, broken into three pieces. The only two exceptions to this are Roy, who wasn't on the mission whatsoever, and Riven, who the medics managed to revive but then lost to a coma. They couldn't even transport him off-world, so that left him sitting in Pali Momi for who knew how long.

Roxy doesn't cry. She knows she should, but there are too many other emotions bashing together in her brain.

Classes are suspended for Thursday and Friday, creating a long weekend that is filled with silence and sorrow. Red Fountain is off for twice as long as Salidin starts working on his grandson's funeral. There are elaborate services being held all over the realms, but Roxy decides to return to Earth where Mike and Vanessa have arranged a private memorial service.

Klaus is equally torn up when Roxy gets home. He doesn't even say anything when she walks through the door, instead giving her a long, hard hug. She notices his eyes are red, and feels a small pang of guilt; everyone at Alfea had been so focused on the girls, they'd almost never mention the boys. But Klaus had spent a year working with them, joking about customers and balancing orders on crazy nights and tossing a drink back after hours, soft laughter and voices providing a nice ambiance for the Fruity Music Bar. And - she realizes with an even greater sense of guilt - this is the second time Klaus has gone through it.

"I'm so sorry, Dad," Roxy says, unsure of what else she can say.

"Ah, honey, _I'm _sorry." He pulls back to look at her, grabbing the small bag she packed off the ground. "How are you holding up?"

"...Okay," she finally answers. "It's like a dream."

Klaus smiles sadly and nods. "I know. It must be strange at school."

"Yeah. It probably won't be normal again for a while."

"It'll take time, that's for sure. You heard anything more about Riven?"

Roxy shakes her head. "No more than you do."

"Figures." He shakes his head, too, like he wants to comment on the situation but thinks better of it. "The service is tomorrow, midday. But for now, you want something to eat? I ordered some Chinese, but there's some leftover mushu pork and rice."

"That sounds nice," Roxy says, and follows him into the kitchen, leaving her other bags on the stairs. As she follows him into the well-lit room, Artu briefly lifts his head to greet her from the floor. He doesn't run to her and jump though, almost like he's aware of the situation. Roxy smiles and bends down to scratch his ears, a gesture he accepts without a fight. The smell of soy sauce and takeout fills the kitchen, mixed with orange from the candles burning in the windowsill. Klaus almost never lit them, but Morgana always insisted they added a homey touch.

"...Where's Mom?" Roxy asks, almost as an afterthought. She doesn't really blame herself, though; besides the few weeks before she departed for Alfea and a few semester breaks, she doesn't have any strong memories of living with Morgana. For the longest time it was just her, Klaus, and Artu. It was hard to think so much had changed.

Klaus grabs an extra paper plate from the cupboard. "She's…in Tir Nan Og."

Roxy's eyes widen. "What? Why?"

"Nebula asked her to come and sit in on a few meetings with the...Major Fairies? Some group like that. They want her input."

"Input on what?"

"Defense strategies. Everyone's worried that these attacks on Earth aren't going to let up anytime soon."

The pieces come together and click in Roxy's head, and the sense of dread in her stomach becomes more prominent. "With the Winx gone, there's no one to defend the Earth."

"Well, not no one. Morgana said Nebula's working on a task force of some kind. Something to help keep those witches away from here."

"That's...good."

Klaus raises an eyebrow at her, and Roxy turns back to Artu, scratching his ears again. "What?" he asks her.

"It's just…well, if Bloom and the girls and the rest of the Specialists couldn't even defeat the witches, why does Nebula think some 'task force' will?"

"Why do people believe a group with magical fairy powers can defend the world against an evil force?" Klaus smiles at her, and for the first time in a few days, Roxy does too. "It's important to be ready for a fight, Roxy. But it's also important to have hope the fight turns out well."

"You're right, Dad."

The microwave dings, and Klaus turns to retrieve the food. "Besides, it looks like we're getting a couple days peace for now. I'm sure when or if those witches attack again, Nebula and your mother will have a plan worked out."

Roxy gently knocks on the wood floor, and straightens up to go grab her food.

* * *

"It's been four days and I still haven't cried yet," Roxy whispers to Andy as they enter the church, dollar bills in their hand to purchase candles to light. "Is that weird?"

"I haven't either," Andy says back, and Roxy believes him. His eyes - albeit weighed down with dark bags that suggest a major lack of sleep - are dry as a bone. "I'm upset, sure, but I just feel…"

"Hollow?" Roxy supplies, dropping the bill into a donation box and taking a candle from the pile next to it. There's a line of people ahead of them, dressed mostly in black, lighting and setting the candles around a large cross. Unlike the few videos Roxy's seen from Magix, she actually recognizes people here, and knows they had personal connections with Bloom. The ceremony is much smaller, the pictures of Bloom from friend's albums and the momentums left on the table much more personal. It makes the pain all the more real.

"I'm too angry to cry," Andy whispers as the line goes forward. "I wanna find those witches and give them hell."

"And you would accomplish this task how exactly?"

"...Big words and very well-thrown punches?"

Roxy smiles lightly as she places her candle into the sand, next to a picture of Bloom and Andy from Junior Prom in the eighth grade. "She'd tell you you're crazy." Roxy remarks. She turns her gaze to Andy to find his eyes are looking a little mistier. He places the candle down next to hers, kisses his index and middle fingers, and touches them to the picture. "We should go find seats," is all he says to her, and they make their way towards a bench in the middle of the church.

They find an empty space near a few of Mike's ladder company members (one of which is Andy's father Jack, who Roxy notes at the other end of the pew, his face set in a stony mask that almost imitates his son). As they wait for the service to start, Roxy glances around the church, from her parents sitting closer to the altar to Bloom's aunt Caroline a few steps away from Mike and Vanessa to the Ellis twins, who Roxy hasn't seen since they moved to New York City back in high school.

"I realize they have a planet to run and everything," Andy whispers, already picking up on who Roxy is looking for, "But you'd think Oritel and Miriam would take time to attend the funeral of their own daughter."

"It's Marion," Roxy corrects him, "and Domino's having a separate funeral service. It's being broadcast tomorrow, my roommates said."

"Oh great, I'll be sure to tune into that on my intergalactic television," Andy sighs and leans back. "The Holloways raised Bloom, that's all I'm saying. Not some high and mighty royal couple who came back to life a few years ago. They shouldn't act like it."

"Andy," Jack's warning comes from across the pew.

Roxy waits for the rest of the row to become involved in a different conversation before she addresses Andy again. "Being mad at Oritel and Marion won't bring Bloom back."

"I know."

"I'm not thrilled they aren't here, either."

"I know."

"Maybe they're respectfully giving each other space. Bloom said they usually never got along."

Andy huffs. "Can't put differences aside even in death."

"Andy," Roxy wants to say more, but at that moment Mike walks up to the altar, and the church goes quiet as people settle in their seats. She watches him take papers from inside his suit and unfold them, laying them down on a small wood podium with shaky fingers. She physically feels pain radiating off of him, can see it from the thirty feet she's spaced from him. Roxy watches him take a shaky breath, and then, with a surprisingly steady voice, he speaks;

"Good afternoon family, friends, and all others gathered with us today. My name is Mike Holloway, and with my wife Vanessa, we have gathered together today to honor the life of our daughter, Bloom. Reverend Pappas will be reading the eulogy today, but...before he does, I'd like to say a few words."

Roxy swallows thickly, and on impulse reaches for Andy's hand. It's clammy, but she holds tight to it nonetheless.

"My daughter, as I'm sure anyone with cable TV is aware of, was not exactly a normal girl." A few chuckles come from different areas of the room, and Mike smiles a bit. "In her teenage years my wife and I discovered she had a wonderful gift, bestowed upon her by forces of the universe we couldn't even begin to imagine. And almost as soon as she did discover these powers, her goals shifted to try and learn about them and master them. Though I spent those years terrified out of mind that she was going to get into some crazy trouble or help in a war effort on a far off planet...deep down in my heart I couldn't have been more proud of her.

"That was just the kind of person Bloom was. She was kind, and caring, and resourceful, and all she wanted to do was help others. At times it was difficult to remind her to even focus on herself. Even before all of this happened, back when she was in the third grade, I remember her spending all day in front of our house selling lemonade with her friends. She wanted the money for an art kit, or so I had thought. By the end of the day she had around thirty dollars in bills and coins. But instead of using that money for what _she_ wanted, Bloom tried to give it to one of the men in my ladder company. His wife had died of bone cancer two weeks earlier, and she wanted him to use the money to buy a bike for his son. She told me 'He's always so sad in class, Daddy. But before, Andy always used to laugh and talk about getting his own bike. I think that would make him happy again.'"

The grip on Roxy's hand tightens, and she turns to see tears rolling silently down Andy's cheeks. She catches his eye and he gives her a pained smile. She wraps her arm around his shoulders and leans her head on his forearm. Her eyes begin to mist up as Mike continues;

"That may seem like just a silly thing a child would think or do, but that pretty much summed up how Bloom was in life; loyal, caring, and putting others before herself. Sometimes, even the entire universe before herself. There are things my daughter did in her life to help others that I'm sure I would never understand, even if I spent my whole life trying to. But what I do know...is that I couldn't be more proud of her."

Mike wipes his eyes with the sleeve of his suit, shuffling through his papers. "I just have one more thing. A quote that Bloom had hanging in her room; she put it there not long after she'd departed for school in the magic dimension. It says '_Magic is not just for the entertainment, but to inspire people to be creative enough with their lives.'_ I know my daughter inspired a lot of people in this world, and in worlds I can't even pronounce correctly. But if I could…" A small pause, and a shaky breath. "I-If I could thank her for inspiring anyone, I'd thank her for being such an inspiration to me."

Mike steps down from the altar, and Roxy realizes that for the first time in four days, she's crying.

* * *

The rest of the service contains kind words and well-planned speeches, but Roxy is so emotionally drained after Mike's that she just rests her head on Andy's shoulder, slipping in and out of her own thoughts and fake-praying with the others until Andy nudges her shoulder, and she looks up to realize people are standing and starting to file out of the church. Sheepishly, she finally lets go of Andy's hand, and they head outside to a grassy field outside the church, where there are tables and chairs set up with drinks and sandwiches.

"You wanna go talk to Mike and Vanessa?" Roxy asks, grabbing a water bottle from the refreshment table.

"In a minute, yeah." Andy shuffles around the ice bin until he comes back with a hard cider. He pops the lid off and takes a long drink from it. "If I go over there now I may start bawling again."

"You weren't bawling. And I can't _believe_ you're drinking that in a _churchyard_," Roxy hisses.

"Hey, they can card me. I turned twenty-one two months ago."

Roxy almost rolls her eyes, but stops midway when she sees the look on Andy's face. The best way to describe it is a look between annoyance, and thinly veiled agony. It makes her heart break into smaller pieces than it was when the whole fiasco started. "Hey Andy?"

"Mhmm?" he says, taking another drink, the bottle almost half empty. His eyes are fixed on the cross at the top of the building.

"Andy, really." Roxy says.

"Yeah?" he lowers his vision back to her, moving the bottle a few inches from his lips. "What?"

"Thanks for being with me today."

Andy puts the drink down all the way, a glimmer of a smile on his lips. He starts to respond to her, but just as his mouth starts moving, a nasally voice pipes up from behind them, sounding a bit impatient. "Umm, excuse me, but you're blocking the table."

Roxy turns around and finds herself trying not to reach forward to snap bones. "Mitzi," she finally manages to say. "Sorry; I didn't see you there."

"I figured. Pass me a diet soda?"

Wordlessly, Andy obliges, and Mitzi taps the top of the can with a perfectly manicured fingernail. She's dressed all in black, but it's accomplished in true Mitzi style with tight-fitting jeans and a sheer black top. "I didn't expect to find you here." Andy states, giving her a condescending look.

"My parents insisted I attend," Mitzi says, as if it were obvious. She turns and looks at Roxy, her face betraying what looks like guilt. "But for what it's worth, I am sorry about all this. Bloom didn't deserve it; no doubt about that."

Slowly, Roxy nods. "Thank you."

"I tried to spell you into oblivion once; no need to thank me." Mitzi manages to crack a small smile, and Roxy wonders how such tragedies work so well at bringing people together (_people who aren't royalty, anyway_, a small voice in the back of her head pipes up. Roxy tells it to be quiet). Mitzi's gaze shifts, and Roxy watches it fall on Andy. "How about you? Holding up, Andy?"

"As best I can," he responds, his voice still tense. "It's not easy losing people you love."

"You have that same look on your face that you had when your mother died," Mitzi says, and Roxy watches his jaw bone shift. "I just… remember Bloom trying to get you to smile after that. Besides the bike. Like, throughout all of third grade. It was actually kind of annoying, but then there was that whole incident with the feathers and glitter glue in art class…"

Roxy had never attended elementary school with Andy, Mitzi, or Bloom, and wonders how difficult it would've been to put up with eight-year-old Mitzi. But the day keeps on getting stranger when, to her utter shock, Andy cracks a grin and starts chuckling. "Christ, I'd forgotten that." he remarks, almost wistfully.

"Elle certainly didn't." Mitzi's smirking, but there's a kind of genuine happiness to it that honestly kind of freaks Roxy out. "Who knew our class would end up being full of magical whatevers, huh?"

Andy shakes his head. "Certainly not what I was expecting."

"And _speaking_ of not what you're expecting," Mitzi leans towards them, and Roxy for some reason follows suit. "_What_ is the deal with King?"

She raises an eyebrow. "King?"

"Selina King."

Roxy's mind flashes back to two separate images. One of a young girl with a blonde bob who spent her middle school lunches in the library, pouring through novels and almost always not talking to anyone who disturbed her. The image is a bit blurry since after those three painful years, the girl in question left the school without so much as a goodbye.

The other image is much more clear. Of a girl with slightly longer blonde hair holding a book in a video taken several days ago.

"She was in one of those videos they were showing when this whole… thing happened." Mitzi's thoughts seem to be on par with Roxy's. "I didn't know Selina was a fairy."

"...She's not. Not to my knowledge, anyway."

Mitzi's eyes widen. "Wasn't she there helping Bloom?"

"No."

Andy slaps his fist into his open palm. "I _knew_ I'd see her in a video. I told you, Roxy."

"But...no; that doesn't make any sense. She wasn't helping us." Roxy's head is swirling. Selina possessing any kind of magical abilities is shocking enough, but there's no way in Hell she was with the Winx and Bloom hadn't said. But that _was_ Selina in the videos, no doubts, and that…

"If she wasn't there with Bloom, then that means she was with the Trix." Andy says.

The idea seems so preposterous Roxy wants to laugh, but there's a dark feeling in the back of her mind that's telling her this is no joke. "C'mon, Andy. Selina and the _Trix_? She's not even a fairy! My mother's been working with Nebula to try and track down all of the girls possessing magical abilities on Earth; they would've found her by now."

The idea seems logical and sound, but Mitzi again decided to actually be intelligent and blow everything out of the water. "What if she's not a fairy, though? What if she's a witch?"

And that is a possibility Roxy has never considered until that very moment.

"That would explain her with the Trix," Andy's saying when she focuses back in on the conversation, "but not why she suddenly had a personal vendetta against Bloom."

"Isn't there someone you can talk to?" It's strange how the only comments Mitzi has ever said to Andy previously included the words 'Band Geek' or 'Four Eyes', but now the two were going back and forth like a flipping ping pong ball. Roxy had never had such a strange set of events occur so close together in her life, and that was _including_ the time she found out she had magical powers and got kidnapped by a group of fairy hunters.

"I-I don't know," she finally says, crossing her arms over her chest. "I doubt Oritel and Marion would have any knowledge about Bloom's education here, and Mike and Vanessa have no knowledge about magic whatsoever. The only person who might even have a single clue would be...gosh, Daphne, I guess."

"Who's that?"

"Bloom's older sister."

"Bloom has a _sister_?" Mitzi's jaw drops in astonishment.

"It's a long story," Roxy and Andy say together, then smile at each other.

"Well is she here at all?"

"No. I haven't seen her since...everything happened," Roxy looks around the field almost as a precaution to make sure Daphne _isn't_ there somewhere. "She's probably on Domino. But, I don't really know her that well. I've only talked to her once or twice."

"But would she know about Selina?" Andy asks.

"I don't know; maybe? If Bloom had seen Selina at all beforehand, Daphne's probably the only person left alive she may have told."

"Then it sounds like you get to make a new friend." Mitzi smirks.

Roxy's eyes narrow. "I'm sorry; you became an expert in magic _when_? Was it before or after your 'tudors' were frozen in the Omega Dimension for all eternity?"

Mitzi's smirk doesn't go anywhere, but it seems to become darker. "Well, it appears I've worn out my welcome. I'll leave you two alone then."

"Thank you again for coming, Mitzi," Andy cuts in before Roxy can add another sarcastic quip.

"My pleasure, Andy. Roxy." She nods and then turns around, heading across the lawn to her parents.

"God, she's so annoying," Roxy says once Mitzi's out of earshot.

"Given. But she's also right."

"Excuse me?"

"You said it yourself," Andy places a hand on her shoulder. "Daphne's the closest living connection to Bloom that isn't currently sitting in a coma or on some far-off planet. If Bloom told her anything about Selina, it could be a major part in bringing those witches down."

"Uh-huh. And why do you care if the witches are still out there?"

"I'm not stupid, Roxy," Andy glances around. "It's only a matter of time before they come back here, hell-bent on world domination or whatever the villains are into these days. Without Bloom and the girls we're sitting ducks. And besides," he continues before Roxy can butt in, "those videos were clear; Selina's powering the witches and the monsters. Taking her out could be a big blow."

"I don't want to _kill_ her, Andy," Roxy snaps, hoping to make him drop the subject. But Andy just keeps staring at her, and finally she sighs. "It's like I told Mitzi; I've never talked to Daphne one-on-one. And I don't think she really wants to see me so soon after her sister's death."

"No time like the present, right?" Roxy gives him a look. "C'mon, at least try to talk to her, Roxy. There's no harm in that, right? If she doesn't know, she doesn't know, and if she does you can work from there."

"...Everyone reports back to Alfea on Monday." Roxy finally states. "Daphne teaches History of Magic to upper level students. I can probably go talk to her during her prep or something. If she's willing to talk to me, anyway."

"That's the spirit," Andy grins. "And you know if you need anything from my end, let me know."

"There may be one thing…" Andy raises an eyebrow, and Roxy gives a sheepish grin. "Prevent me from killing Mitzi?"

He laughs, and throws an arm around her shoulders. "Way ahead of you. Let's go thank Mike and Vanessa, then go get some real food."

Roxy smiles, and they head off across the lawn, only stopping to look at the picture of all six Winx girls that's propped up on the guestbook table.

* * *

_**In the next chapter:** Roxy seeks help from an heir of Domino, and discussions include revenge, breaking and entering, and pumpkin-loving former witches._


	3. Take My Hand And Come With Me

_**In the last chapter: **__Roxy attends Bloom's funeral on Earth, and with prodding from Andy and Mitzi, agrees to speak with Daphne about Selina, who has been seen in videos on the day the Winx died._

* * *

Chapter 2: Take My Hand And Come With Me

* * *

When Roxy returns to Alfea on Monday, she thinks it's wrong to say everyone looks happier. Because in all practical senses, there's still a sadness that hangs in the air and a feeling like something's out of place. It's a hole in Roxy's chest that she wants desperately to fill, but knows the only hope of filling it is time and time alone.

But the hallways aren't filled with silence and the freshman aren't wearing all black anymore, so it's a start.

On the holographic screens in the common room of the dorm, Roxy catches glimpses of the other funeral processions from around the realms. Some of them seem very thoughtful and provoking (Flora and Helia's joint service on Limphea almost makes Roxy cry again), while others incorporate traditions she's never even heard of before (Zenith. Maybe holographic projection _should_ be used in moderation).

One of Roxy's roommates, a redheaded fourth year student named Nova (she'd been held back during her second year for reasons Roxy was never made clear on) said she'd attended the service on Domino, and called it 'somber' and 'lifeless'. But she also mentioned Daphne had been present, and had relayed to multiple lords and ambassadors that she planned to continue on with her teaching at Alfea.

"But how did she look?" Roxy had asked Nova as she dropped her backpack onto the coffee table.

Nova's lips simply twisted. "Honestly? Pretty bad. I mean Thoren was there, so I think that helped, but she was having trouble holding it together."

"He was a cousin of Sky's, right?"

"Ha, try _the_ cousin. He was related to Sky through King Erendor, making him part of the official royal bloodline. And out of Erendor and his brother, he's the only male left."

"Meaning…?"

Nova had just chuckled. "_Meaning_, now that Sky's gone, and that whole arranged marriage to Diaspro went south, _Thoren_ is the heir to the Eraklyon throne."

Thinking back to that conversation, Roxy recalls more pity than anything. Her conversation with Sky at the Fruity Music Bar had rarely led into politics, but when they did it'd been obvious he'd possessed a great dislike for them. She doubts Thoren thought any higher of it, especially if he had never planned to rule Eraklyon in the first place.

Poor Daphne. First your sister dies then your boyfriend's put in charge of a whole planet.

In all honesty, if Roxy hadn't promised Andy, she would've put off trying to talk to Daphne for at least a week. Maybe more, if Nova was willing to keep her in the gossip loop. But a promise was a promise, and as a result Roxy finds herself walking down the Alfea hallways after final bell, towards the classroom for History of Magic.

The door is closed when Roxy gets there, no student in sight and no sounds to be heard. For a minute she thinks she should turn back, but Roxy knows that if she does, she'll never work up the courage to come back. So, instead of running, Roxy takes a deep breath, knocks three times on the door, and pushes it open.

"Professor Daphne?"

The classroom is identical to every other one she's been in before. One whole wall is lined with windows looking onto the woods, the desks are a light mahogany, and there's a scent of old books and fairy dust that always lingers around. Roxy's eyes glance to the left, and she finds a blonde figure at the desk at the front of the room. The desk itself is completely disorganized with papers and textbooks, but the woman looks very put together, which Roxy finds interesting considering her sister died less than a week ago.

Daphne raises her head and looks at Roxy, her eyes a bit distant but clear nonetheless. "Sorry, I know the tutoring sessions are usually here, but they're in Palladium's room for the next month."

Roxy blinks. "Wha...no. I'm not here for a tutoring session. My name is Roxy Morgan."

Daphne's eyes narrow as though she's heard the name before, and after a few moments her eyes widen in realization. "Roxy...the last Earth fairy?"

"That's me. I'm a...or, I _was_, a friend of Bloom's. And the girls."

"Of course. I was told great things about you. You were a good friend to my sister." Her voice carries a deep emotion, and all Roxy can do is smile politely. "I take it that's what you're here to discuss. My sister."

"Um, yes ma'am." Roxy steps further into the classroom, "Do you have a minute? I can come back later…"

Daphne waves her hand. "No, no. I'm not getting any work done anyway. Come in; take a seat." She snaps her fingers and the door behind Roxy swings shut. She fights the sense of dread in her stomach and sits on top of one of the desks in front of Daphne's. "What can I do for you?"

Roxy takes a deep breath. "How much did Bloom tell you about her life on Earth? Before she found out about...everything."

Daphne raises an eyebrow; she obviously wasn't expecting a question like that. "She… didn't get into a whole lot of detail with me. I know about her foster parents, a few stories from when she was young; I know about you, obviously. But other than that, I'm not very knowledgeable. Bloom and I were focused on the future; the lives ahead of us on Domino."

The way she brushes Mike and Vanessa aside for Oritel and Marion makes Roxy's fists clench, but she tries not to let it distract her. "What about friends? Besides me, that is. Did she ever mention anyone?"

"Well, there was you. A girl named Mitzi...her first serious boyfriend; his name was Andre - "

"Andy," Roxy cuts in before she can stop herself.

"That's right, Andy. And two other guys that hung around him a lot… probably a few others too. My memory isn't great right now."

"Did she ever mention a Selina? Maybe within the last few weeks."

Daphne's eyes narrow. "What's this about, Roxy? I don't think you ever said."

She blinks at Daphne's change in attitude. Part of her wants to start arguing back, but knows it's hardly Daphne's fault she's so stressed. Instead she waves her hand, recalling an old spell Tecna had taught her during their time on Earth. A small hologram appears in her hand, reflecting Selina's image. "This is Selina King. I knew her in middle school, but Bloom was in school with her from first to eighth grade…ages six to fourteen, roughly," Roxy clarifies when a look of confusion passes over Daphne's face. "Does she look familiar to you at all?"

"No," Daphne says. "What does she have to do with anything?"

"She's in a video taken in Honolulu on…well, the day everything happened. And I can't tell exactly, but it looks kinda-sorta like she's helping the Trix."

Daphne's lips press together in a thin line, and though Roxy doesn't know any personal quirks about Daphne, she can tell Daphne's visibly upset. "Helping how?" she finally asks.

"It looked like she was supplying the Trix with energy, who in turn gave it to the monsters."

Daphne shakes her head and stands, heading toward the windows. She can see Daphne's shoulders are starting to shake. "You said this girl's name is Selina?"

"Yes. Selina King."

There's a long sigh. "Egypt."

Roxy stares at her. Maybe she should go get Ms. Faragonda; it seems having Daphne back so soon is not the best idea. "Sorry?"

She shakes her head, as though remembering there's another person there. "Bloom. When she and the girls got back from Egypt a few weeks ago, she had mentioned something about seeing a friend from Earth. I thought she had just gotten heat stroke in the Library of Alexandria, and then after a while I thought maybe _you_ had been there, since I wasn't up to date on the mission. But that name...I remember Bloom specifically saying it. She said she saw _Selina_."

Roxy's stomach drops. This is exactly _not_ what she wanted to hear. "Then that means she must be working with the Trix. The pieces fit."

Daphne turns back around, and Roxy is surprised to see her eyes are narrowed. "How long has she been allied with the Trix?"

"...Not long, I would assume. Sometime after the girls defeated Tritanus, so...four months? Maybe five?"

"And her powers? How long have those been in play?"

"Tir Nan Og didn't pick them up, so the only assumption I can think of is fairly recently, too. Though I don't know if she's received any training."

Daphne's shuffling through her desk drawers. "Anything else you can tell me?"

Roxy is tempted to answer 'your constant mood swings worry me' but instead decides on, "If Selina's really allied with the Trix, she's more than likely holed up with them in Cloud Tower."

"Duly noted. Though a bit late...ah, here we go."

Daphne sets a dusty scroll onto her desk and rolls it out, shoving aside random piles of books and student work. Roxy cautiously steps forward, and looks at the lines running across the page. "...What is this? Some kind of map?"

"Yes. There are underground tunnels that used to connect Alfea, Cloud Tower, and Red Fountain. They became obsolete when Red Fountain was remodeled and the witches and fairies stopped their rivalry, but they're still there."

Roxy blinked. "Uh-huh...and you're interested in these tunnels because…"

"If what you said is true, Selina's in Cloud Tower. And she's inexperienced. That makes her an easy target, and a blow to the witches if she's eliminated."

Daphne moves to roll the scroll back up, but Roxy slaps a hand down to stop her. "Whoa whoa; wait a minute. When you say eliminate, what do you mean, exactly?"

The blonde girl's eyes narrow. "I mean kill; the sooner the better. Tonight, if possible."

"_Tonight?_" This is not the reaction Roxy had been expecting _at all_. "Kill her? Like head on the ground, heart not beating kill?"

"You're from Earth; don't you know what 'kill' means?"

Roxy sucks in a sharp breath, and is tempted, _oh so tempted_, to start fighting these Earth cracks Daphne keeps making. But instead she says, "You can't _kill_ her. You don't even know if she's involved yet."

"You said she was on Earth when the attack happened, and looked to be allied with the Trix. What other information do I need?"

"I wouldn't have _told_ you all that if I knew you were going to go all homicide on me!" Roxy snaps. "I may not have known Selina well when I was a kid, but that doesn't mean I'm going to sit by and watch you try to kill her!"

"Even if she's responsible for Bloom's death?" Daphne asks, looking at her pointedly.

Roxy pauses for a moment, weighing both sides of the argument. "...Bloom wouldn't want you to rush into this without being one hundred percent sure Selina was involved." she finally says. "And you know that."

"Then if she's not there, I won't kill her. Fair?" Daphne sends out a burst of magic that knocks Roxy's hand away, and she rolls up the scroll. "I appreciate your concern, Roxy, and the information you've given me. But right now it's best to just let me handle it."

"By barging into Cloud Tower while Icy, Darcy, and Stormy have control over it?"

"I can handle those three if I come across them. Now, if you don't mind, it appears I have some planning to do."

Roxy watches in complete shock as Daphne steps around her and heads for the door, as though she's no more than an overzealous student. For a moment she wants to curse Andy for making her come here (and Mitzi for the damned idea in the first place), but knows this is _not_ how either of them expected to find Daphne. Bloom's previous descriptions had fondly regarded her as a clumsy yet kind woman, not someone hellbent on seeking revenge. Though becoming hellbent on revenge seemed to be a side effect of death (Aisha's alliance with Nebula comes to mind as a shining example).

Quite a few choice comebacks enter Roxy's head to yell at Daphne, but instead she decided to say the one thing that will make her stop dead in her tracks. "I'm coming with you."

The sound of footsteps stop. "...What?"

"Going into Cloud Tower alone in the middle of night is a suicide mission. You need backup, not to mention a person to hold you back from killing Selina on-site. I'm going."

"You're a kid. You're staying."

"Have you even _been_ to Cloud Tower before?" Roxy asks.

There's a pause that makes Roxy smirk. Finally, she's caught her off guard. And that pause allows her to get ahead.

"...They layout doesn't matter," Daphne finally responds. "There are maps. I'm still going. Alone," she throws Roxy a pointed look.

"Then I'll tell Ms. Faragonda and Griselda. And we both know they won't let you go there," Roxy puts her hands on her hips. "Or you may lose your job here. Or worse."

Daphne stares wide eyed at Roxy. "You don't have the guts."

Roxy narrows her eyes in response, and walks out the door and to the left, headed for Faragonda's office. Once she's out of Daphne's direct line of vision, she takes a few deep breaths to steady herself. If this doesn't work, she'll need a new way to get information on Selina. There was an old woman the girls were talking about who had information on the Legendarium. Maybe if Roxy found her…

"Okay, okay; you can come! Wait!"

Roxy deliberately slows her pace to a stop, wipes the smirk off her face, and turns back around. Daphne is standing a few feet away, her face a mixture of annoyance and worry. "Really?"

"Yes," Daphne almost sounds out of breath. "Just _don't_ tell Faragonda or Griselda. And I'll do my best not to hurt your friend."

Roxy wants to argue Selina is hardly a friend, but just nods. "Thank you."

Daphne rolls her eyes and heads back in the opposite direction. After a moment, Roxy follows her. "So...do we still leave tonight?"

"Yes."

Roxy nods. "Great. But..."

"Oh for Magix's sake, _what now_?" Daphne spins back around, looking annoyed.

For a second she considers abandoning her thought, but Roxy shakes it off. "Well, I mean, if what you said about not knowing Cloud Tower's layout is true...shouldn't we think about brining someone along who _does_ know it?"

"You're implying we ask more people?"

"Not a lot! Maybe just...someone who knows CT. Who's been there before, even? Heck, for all I care you can ask your boyfriend to come along, too. I just think we need someone with firsthand knowledge of the place we're infiltrating. You know, in case we get caught by the witches?"

Daphne stares at her for a moment before sighing. "That would be...wise, I suppose."

Though she didn't expect Daphne to cave so easily, she manages to keep the happiness off her face. "Great. So, do you have anyone in mind?"

To her surprise, Daphne grins. "As a matter of fact, I do. Come on," she turns and heads back down the hall.

Roxy raises an eyebrow and starts to follow her. "Where are we going?"

"Field trip."

* * *

Downtown Magix is cloudy with a light drizzle of rain. It seems to be reflecting the mood of the entire dimension. Daphne uses a simple spell to keep droplets from hitting her as she and Roxy head along the street. Roxy has a dark green umbrella; she doesn't know any water deflection spell and figures Daphne wouldn't tell her one if she asked. It was a miracle her shirt wasn't signed yet.

"It's just around the corner," Daphne directs, and before Roxy knows it they're stopped in front of a two-story building that's painted a dark brown. Sage it running up one side of it, and the small sheltered patio is occupied by a few people dressed in dark colors. Roxy's eyes drift up to the neon sign above the door.

"The Black Lagoon Café?"

"It was created as a joke by some senior witches a few years back. Bloom told me there was this whole thing with Stella…" Daphne's voice trails off, and Roxy glances over just in time to see her compose herself. "It used to be a big witch hangout during the rivalry years, but since everyone gets along now, it's just a coffee shop run by CT alumni."

"And this is where our mystery girl is?"

"Indeed." Without signaling, Daphne steps onto the small patio and opens the door to the café. Roxy fumbles to close her umbrella and darts inside after Daphne.

The shop's interior is cozy in Roxy's opinion. The walls are exposed brick and decorated with paintings and various trinkets. The coffee bar is on one side, opposite booths with deep purple cushions and several dark tables. There are quite a few people, but it's not nearly as busy as the mainstream coffee shops Bloom's dragged Roxy to before. Though in all honesty, she prefers this one.

Roxy stops examining the interior to see Daphne is heading toward the counter, catching the attention of the pink-haired barista. She rolls her eyes and follows, catching the end of Daphne's question. "...graduated two years ago? Is she here?"

The pink-haired girl is nodding. "Yeah, she's in back. One second." She disappears behind a purple velvet curtain before Roxy can speak.

"I take it she's here?" Roxy asks, glancing up at the drink menu. She doesn't know what a Dark Mud Latte is, but she's fairly certain she doesn't want to find out.

"Yes. And when she gets here, just let me do the talking." Daphne says.

"Yeah, because you're such a charmer," Roxy mutters under her breath.

The death glare she receives tells her she wasn't silent enough. "My sister is dead. Pardon me for not being more cheerful."

_Bloom was my friend too!_ Roxy wants to snap, but she's spared as the curtains part, and the pink haired girl walks back out, accompanied by another person.

The girl in front of them has a short red bob, and is dressed in orange jeans and flowing back top. Rings are on most of her fingers, and if Roxy didn't know any better, she'd say she was a witch. Except she's seen this girl around Alfea before, mostly taking advanced classes designed for alumni who want to sharpen their powers. Roxy tries to put a name to the face, but the girl speaks, answering the question for her.

"Your Highness," she says, giving a small bow towards Daphne. "My name is Mirta. I hear you want to speak with me?"

* * *

_**In the next chapter: **__Eraklyon royals are called, breaking and entering occurs, and information is gathered._


	4. Don't Bleed On The Books

**_In the last chapter:_**_ After some tense arguments, Daphne agrees to let Roxy accompany her to Cloud Tower to see if Selina really is working with the Trix._

__**Update (7/27):** Some grammatical errors were pointed out in this chapter, and have been fixed. If you see any others please come yell at me.__

* * *

Chapter 3: Don't Bleed on the Books

* * *

When Roxy first came to Alfea, she expected to learn things like potions and ancient mystical spells - something out of the Harry Potter novels, just with fairies in place of wizards.

She did not expect to be standing in a forest clearing in the middle of the night, teeth chattering as she huddles into her jacket. To her left, Daphne taps her foot with a touch of impatience as Mirta carefully examines the tree she thinks contains the passage to Cloud Tower. "Are you sure?" Daphne finally asks, looking over to Mirta.

"I could give you a solid answer if you'd stop asking every fifteen seconds," Mirta responds, a small smirk on her face. Roxy likes her; she can dish out quips to match Daphne's attitude. "Some of these old trees are decoys the witches set up. Don't want to trigger some five-year-old spell that turns you into a pumpkin."

Roxy raises an eyebrow. "Spells like that exist?"

"Yes they do. Trust me." Mirta reaches around to a tree branch, and after a moment smirks. "Here we go." She yanks on the branch, and part of the tree fades away, revealing a stone staircase leading underground. "This would be your last chance to stop this insanity and go home."

"Funny," Daphne says. She looks around, as though waiting.

"Worth a try," Mirta shrugs at Roxy. "After you guys, then."

"Just…one second."

Roxy rolls her eyes. "You're kidding right? After all the 'why can't you find this faster' junk, you want to wait, Daphne?"

"Just a minute."

"The Trix are probably asleep by now. You have nothing to worry about," Mirta says, trying to sound helpful.

"That's not my concern, trust me."

"Then what - " Roxy stops mid sentence as she picks up on a sound coming from the woods. She holds up a finger, and the other two girls fall silent. "Do you guys hear…an engine?"

"Finally," Daphne sighs.

Before Roxy can ask, the sound gets louder, and a levi-bike bursts into the clearing. Its rider is wearing a black helmet and dressed in dark colors. The bike skids to a stop a few feet from them, kicking dust and leaves into the air. Roxy coughs and waves a hand to clear it from her face. When her eyes stop watering, she looks over in time to see the rider take his helmet off.

"Thoren?" she asks in disbelief.

"You did say it would be a good idea to call him." Daphne says, a small smirk on her face. She goes to greet him before Roxy can respond.

"Who is he?" Mirta asks, coming to stand beside Roxy.

"Thoren of Eraklyon. Sky's cousin."

"Ah. They look alike," Mirta says, almost as an afterthought.

Roxy's surprised to hear that. She forgets Mirta was around long before she knew anything about magic. "Did you spend a lot of time with him? Sky, I mean."

"Somewhat. I hung out with the girls mostly, but I knew them. Probably knew Helia best just because I spent a lot of time with Flora…" Mirta trails off, and the two watch as Daphne and Thoren embrace. "Daphne's lucky Thoren didn't go with them."

"_Daphne's_ lucky she didn't go with them," Roxy says quietly. "Or Roy."

"Now there's a name I truly don't know," Mirta smirks. "I barely even knew Nabu. Aisha had just started really moving past him, and now it looks like they're together again in the afterlife. Or whatever lies beyond life."

"Nabu isn't dead," Roxy says after a moment. "It's a suspended state; he could wake up at any time. Tir Nan Og is just nervous that their magic might make things worse."

"Sounds like he's dead to me, then."

Roxy wants to respond, but let's the argument go as Daphne and Thoren finally join them. "Roxy," Thoren nods his head in her direction, and holds out a hand for Mirta. "I'm Thoren. Mirta, right?"

"Last I checked. Nice to meet you." Mirta accepts his hand. "I take it you aren't here to just wish us luck?"

He smiles. "No; Daphne asked me if I'd accompany you girls. No magic powers, but I am well trained in defense. Might come in handy."

"The more the merrier, right Roxy?"

"If it keeps everyone sane, I'm for it." Roxy shoots a look towards Daphne. "We should probably get going. I wanted some sleep before classes tomorrow."

"Technically it's today," Mirta turns and steps into the passage. "C'mon. It's only a five minute walk."

Inside, the caverns are cool, but stuffy for their years of disuse. There are slots where torches may have been long ago, but they're currently empty and covered in cobwebs. The silence is deafening, but in a way it makes Roxy feel better. There's no way anyone will think to look for them in the tunnels.

"So," Mirta breaks the silence first. "What's our plan of attack here?"

"Plan of attack?" Daphne echoes.

"Well I mean you didn't just come here to throw fireballs and leave, did you?"

Thoren looks over to Daphne. "You _were_ a bit vague on the details."

"Well…that's because…"

"This is more of an information gathering mission." Roxy cuts in, deciding to be a good person and save Daphne from any embarrassment. "We need to find out if a particular girl is aligned with the Trix and played a part in the girls' death."

"Who is she?" Thoren asks.

Roxy thinks for a moment, and holds out a hand. She launches a projection spell, and a likeness of Selina from the videos appears in her hand. "Her name is Selina King. She's from Gardenia, but we lost touch years ago. She's in some of those videos from Hawaii, but we didn't think she had any powers…"

"You're sure she's not a fairy?" Mirta asks.

"If she is her magic is dark. Too dark for Tir Nan Og to find." Roxy lets the spell drop. "I just…_we_ just need to know if she played a part in this."

"So what happens if this Selina girl isn't involved at all?" Thoren asks.

"…Then we focus on the Trix again. And stop them for good."

"Oh yeah, never heard that one before," Mirta rolls her eyes. She shrugs when everyone turns to stare at her. "It's true. But back to the point; investigating. We'll probably want to split up and check out the North and South Wings. The Trix stayed there back when they were Cloud Tower students, so it's kind of their second home. I'd check out the potions lab, Main Library, and maybe the Crypt. That's where they'd usually hang out, and they may have left something behind that'll indicate what they're up to. Or if Selina's involved."

Roxy nods. "How do you think we should split?"

"I can take someone through the potions lab and the Crypt. The others can go to the main library; it's pretty easy to get to from where the passage lets out. We take an hour, then meet back up at the entrance. In and out easy."

"The Crypt holds energy from the Ancestral Witches, doesn't it?" Thoren asks. "Sky once told me Bloom went there trying to find information on Oritel and Marion."

"It does. I'm hoping the witches will be just as considerate a second time around."

"If you're going to try and communicate with them, I should go with you," Daphne says. "They may be more willing to talk to an heir of Domino."

"Joy," Roxy hears Mirta mutter under her breath.

"Well then, Roxy," Thoren says, his voice betraying the fact he heard Mirta as well, "Think we can handle a library?"

She smiles politely in response. "Let's do it."

* * *

Once the passage ends, it's only twenty or so feet up to a back entrance (Roxy has almost forgotten the witches had suspended the school in the air to try and keep it isolated). The girls can easily make it with their transformations, and Daphne easily lifts Thoren and herself with her wings. They're an odd sight, really; one man in dark clothes and three fairies with varying transformations (Daphne's Sirenix, Roxy's Believix, and Mirta's Enchantix). But once safely inside, they split up and go their respective ways.

The library Roxy is tasked with searching is a lot like Alfea's, when she gets right down to it. It's large, with books lining the walls and countless other shelves. Alcoves are set up periodically, and the older, more powerful books are locked behind a magical barrier. Or at least, they normally would have been. When Roxy comes across the space, the spell protecting the books is dull and blinking in and out of activity. The shelves behind it have holes where ancient books are usually kept.

"Looks like the witches picked this place clean," Thoren whispers, reaching through the spell with ease and plucking a book from the shelf. "I wonder what they took..."

"Probably stuff that helped create those monsters," Roxy says, glancing around. "Maybe taking a few books will slow them down?"

"It looks like they've already got what they wanted," Thoren points out, thumbing through the book he's picked up. "But there's still some powerful stuff in here. Like this one? It's called _Communicating With Ghosts, Demons, and Dead Souls_. You can bring a dead person's ghost back and talk to it."

Roxy glances over his shoulder at the pages. "I don't even recognize that language."

"It's an ancient elf language from Oppositus. You have to read the spells backwards for them to work."

"I'm impressed. Where'd you learn to read that?"

"Every Eraklyon dignitary has to speak at least two languages. I chose it as my second. Truth be told I did it just to read old fiction books I was interested in. I…" he stops for a moment. "I guess I've got a few more to learn now."

Roxy feels her stomach drop. "Right. I heard about your…promotion."

"Yeah, promotion," he shuts the book, but instead of returning it to the shelf, he puts it in the bag he brought. "I guess that's a good a word as any."

"…Have they told you anything, yet?" Roxy tentatively asks.

"No. I'll be doing royal prep for a few years at least. And though no one's said directly, I still have a few months to decide if I want to abdicate." He crosses his arms. "The whole thing is a shit storm."

Roxy nods. "Thoren?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry about Sky."

He sighs, the anger on his face melting into a pitiful look. "Thanks. I'm sorry about the girls and the rest of the Specialists. You guys seemed close."

"Yeah, but I wasn't related to anyone. It's hard to lose family. Believe me, been there and done that."

Thoren nods. "Nobody seems to want to talk about it. Someone once said Eraklyon is like a kingdom on Earth because we do that…a place called England?"

Roxy smiles briefly. "Keep calm and carry on, the British always say."

"That's it. But oddly enough, it doesn't make me think any higher of my new kingdom."

"That's fair." Roxy realizes this is the longest conversation she's ever had with Thoren, and it's the first time she's ever seen him bitter. It's odd; he's usually in a pretty good mood, and seeing him so upset is unusual. She isn't sure what to do. Maybe Daphne would have an idea if she were here.

Before Roxy can say anything (or, more likely, embarrass herself), a voice booms through the silent library, starling both her and Thoren into silence. "Are you sure you weren't followed?"

"Very sure, Master. Those witches are all asleep." There's a pause, and then a low, feminine chuckle. "And too stupid to figure anything out."

Roxy and Thoren stare at each other in shock. For a few seconds, it's like they're both caught in a dream; the _Trix_ are out of the loop? That seems impossible. And it must mean something very, _very_ bad is happening._  
_

Thoren seems to get his common sense back first, and lifts a finger to his lips while motioning towards where the voices are coming from. Roxy nods, and together they begin to move along the bookcases in the darkness. Almost as an afterthought, Roxy de-transforms, and the soft glow her wings usually emit disappear.

They follow the voices down a few rows until they reach a small alcove. There is a decent view into it through an empty space in the bookshelf (where the Trix have more than likely made their rounds). Thoren nods, and they crouch down, peering into the open space.

At first glance, it seems there's only one person there; Selina. Roxy feels her heart drop at her confirmed suspicions, and takes a moment to thank whatever Gods are listening that Daphne isn't here. Selina's back is to them, and her focus is on…a book?

"They may be stupid," Roxy jumps as a deep voice booms from the book, "But they are also cautious around you. Why have they not yet shared their powers with you?"

The more Roxy stares, the more she can make out a sketch of a man on the open pages in the book. Magic is gently swirling on the page, casting a faint golden glow. And it makes the sketch appear to be…_moving_.

"Is that a person?" Roxy says softly to Thoren. "Trapped in the book?"

He shrugs and nods in response.

"I'm trying, Acheron," Selina responds to the book, and Roxy knows now that there _must_ be someone in there. "I feel their former allies have made them this way. But now that I've defeated the Winx, it should be no time before they share their power with me. Then I can finally get you out of here."

"Ah yes, _those_ girls," the book - Acheron - chuckles. "You're sure they're really gone?"

Selina hesitates. "One of the boys did survive…but he's in a coma. With no signs of ever waking up."

"Then why not go take care of him permanently?"

"It would take too much magic. Which we apparently need to save up," Selina sighs. "If those witches don't start sharing it soon, we'll need another way to get you out."

"There are other ways," Acheron assures her. "But of course the witch's magic or any dark spell will be easiest. However, there are other powerful sources available if it come to that. It won't be much longer now."

Roxy feels a shiver go down her spine. She doesn't know much, but it's apparent getting Acheron out of that book is another very, _very_ bad thing. The look on Thoren's face tells her she's not the only one thinking that.

"Why the rush all of a sudden?" Selina asks. "The Winx are dead and the Trix are clueless. At this rate we could leisurely walk to our place ruling the magical dimension."

"You're getting ahead of yourself, Selina. Don't forget you were seen when you got rid of those fairies. It may only be a matter of time before someone figures it out and comes to lock me in this infernal book for all of time."

"But you said it was impossible for someone to lock the Legendarium!" Selina accuses, taking a step back from the book. Roxy has a clearer view, and can see Acheron moving on the page.

"I said _nearly_ impossible. The last person who ever knew how to close it - and ever came close to defeating me - was finished off during the attacks on Domino; the so-called 'Greatest Wizard of the Magical Universe.' But given time, someone else could figure it out."

Roxy watches Thoren's eyes go wide.

"Well what's our next move then?" Selina crosses her arms over her chest.

"I…" Acheron starts, but his voice trails off. Roxy glances at the book and can just see his eyes are narrowed. The wisps of magic that coated the page flare up, and then suddenly launch towards her and Thoren. It hits the shelf above them, and books clatter to the floor, leaving a larger hole through which they're clearly visible. "You two!"

"Run!" Thoren grabs Roxy's hand, and they race towards the doors. Magic blasts shoot by them, but they're too small to make an impact. Automatically, Roxy summons her Believix, turns around, and shoots the bottom of the book stand. It falls to the floor, effectively shutting Acheron inside its pages.

"We have to get out of here," Thoren says as they enter the hallway. He turns and jams the doors with a long sword. "That girl's gonna come after us. Or worse."

"Worse?" Roxy says, glancing around the halls. She doesn't see anyone, which is good, but she also doesn't see Daphne or Mirta.

"Roxy," Thoren says as though she's stupid. "That was the _Legendarium_!"

There's a loud cracking sound, and the wooden doors to the library start to break.

"Yeah, fill me in later." Roxy grabs his forearms and manages to lift them both off the ground before she heads down the hall they came from. "Right now we need to get to Mirta and Daphne. How long were we in there?"

"Probably around the hour we were given." Thoren says.

There's more cracking sounds. "Well they aren't here, so what do we do?"

"You're asking me?"

_Bloom would know what to do_, a voice said in the back of Roxy's head.

But Bloom wasn't here. And she never would be again. It was time to stop asking 'what would Bloom do' and start asking 'what could _she_ do'.

Roxy lets go of Thoren and turned towards the way they'd came. She summons the most powerful shield she knows and throws it up over the passage, creating a barrier between her and Selina. "I can hold this for a few minutes. You go get Daphne and Mirta so we can get out of here."

"Luckily that isn't necessary." The pink-haired fairy sighs in relief and turns to see Mirta and Daphne coming from the other way. They're both still transformed, but it doesn't look like they've come across any major trouble.

"Roxy what on Earth…" Daphne starts.

"I'll explain later! But for now; Thoren, give Mirta that book you found!"

Thoren raises an eyebrow, but obliges and passes it along. Roxy hears a loud explosion from beyond the barrier, but doesn't let it phase her. "Is there anything in there you can use to distract Selina while we make a run for it?"

"Selina's here?" Daphne asks, but Roxy elects to completely ignore her and focus on Mirta, who hastily thumbs through the pages of the book. Apparently everyone in this freaking dimension can read troll languages but her.

Mirta scrunches her eyes, and then they light up. "Drop the shield."

Thoren looks shocked. "You sure?"

"Like eighty percent sure!"

"Close enough for me!" Roxy says, and pulls her energy back. The shield dissipates, and Mirta quickly reads through a spell. It only takes a few seconds, but it feels like hours in Roxy's mind. She watches shadows dance in the hallways, and suddenly she can Selina stalking towards them, the Legendarium under her arm.

No sooner than Selina's eyes connect with Roxy does Mirta finish reading the spell. Suddenly, the shadows from the wall jump to life, peeling off surfaces and floating in the air. Some adopt faces, but most are lifeless black masses. But they seem to be intently focused on Mirta, who simply smirks and points a finger at Selina. "Get her."

The shadows take off for her. Roxy watches Selina scream and try to shield herself, but the shadows are on her in no time, completely obscuring her from view. A hand tries to reach out, but is quickly engulfed. There's a pang on guilt in Roxy chest before she realizes it's a better fate than Daphne trying to blow her head off.

"Let's go!" Speaking of which, Roxy turns to see Daphne holding open the passage back to the tunnels. Mirta has Thoren with her. "Before those things wear off!"

Roxy nods and flies through the passage and down into the tunnels. She lands and turns in time to see Daphne enter, then turn around and release a beam of magic energy. The rocks around the opening of the passage shake, then surge and block it off, effectively preventing it from being seen. Daphne sighs in relief and slides to the ground, her fairy form flickering off.

"Daph, you okay?" Thoren immediately goes over and puts an arm around her, helping her stand again.

"My magic…" Daphne says between deep breaths. "I put all of it…into trying to coax out those…damn witches…"

"We didn't get far," Mirta finishes, flipping through the spell book again. "Obviously you had better luck."

Thoren nods. "That girl has the Legendarium. With what looks like a powerful wizard inside it."

"The Legendarium?" Daphne says, her eyes wide. "You're sure?"

"Does someone want to actually tell me what that is?" Roxy asks. Though the name sounds vaguely familiar - maybe from history class or hearing Bloom and the girls talk about it - the adrenaline in her system is jumbling her thoughts.

"The Legendarium is a book that supposedly brings magical creatures and other beings to life based on the will of it's user." Daphne says. She raises an eyebrow. "The wizard you mentioned didn't happen to be named Acheron, did he?"

Roxy's eyes widen. "You know him?"

"I know _of_ him. He created the Legendarium, but accidentally imprisoned himself inside it. The book was housed in the Library of Alexandria for years. How it got out of there and into a human's hands I don't know. But he's probably using her to try and get free again."

"That _would_ explain why she suddenly has magic powers…" Roxy says. "So what do we do?"

"I'm no expert," Mirta responds, "but I'd say we probably need to close that book and lock it for good."

"That's where it gets confusing," Thoren pipes up. "I read about this thing before. Nobody's ever been able to find a surefire way to lock it."

"At all?" Mirta asks. She sounds skeptical. "That book must've been somewhere before Alexandria. That means people knew it existed. And power like that would likely cause concern. Someone must've figured out a way to lock it. Or at least gotten close."

Roxy sighs and leans against the cave wall. "Forget it; that Acheron guy said the only person who ever came close to locking was some guy before Domino froze that called himself the 'Greatest Wizard in the Magical Universe'. That must've been twenty years ago…at least. Plus Acheron said he died. Who even _knows_ someone that fits a description like that?"

She doesn't expect an answer, but after a moment Mirta responds again, her voice grim. "I know one person. And I think," she raises the book up, "I know how to reach him."

* * *

_**In the next chapter: **Mirta uses the stolen spell book to summon a particular spirit, the girls learn about Acheron, and a surprising new ally is made (though Daphne and Mirta refuse to refer to him as such)._

_**Review Question: **Who do you think Mirta is summoning? Or, if you know me well enough to guess who that someone is, who's a _cooler_ person for Mirta to summon?_


	5. Seven Minutes In Hell

_**In the last chapter: **__Roxy, Daphne, Thoren, and Mirta break into Cloud Tower, and discover Selina is in fact allied with the Trix. But the real threat is Acheron, a wizard locked up in the Legendarium who's planning to break out. The last person who may have known how to lock the book is dead - but Mirta's found a spell to bring him back._

**A/N: **If there is a point in this chapter where you ask 'did she really just imply that ship', the answer is yes. Sorry not sorry (seriously though y'all shouldn't be surprised).  
But in real 'sorry's', my apologies for the delayed update. I thought I could handle college and updates and writing my own stuff. Turns out I'm still learning!

* * *

Chapter 4: Seven Minutes In Hell

* * *

"I don't like this, Daph," Thoren says, pacing near the windows of the potions lab.

"You think I do?"

Roxy glances over at Daphne, shuffling through an array of potion ingredients and handing them over to Mirta, one by one. The quartet retreated to Daphne's classroom as soon as the last bell had rung. Roxy then reinforced the doors to block anyone else from entering. Mostly the spell was for Faragonda and Griselda. "But our options are limited right now."

"I can think of three better options off the top of my head." Thoren mutters, but pulls one of the desk chairs out and sits.

"Trust me," Mirta pipes up, "if there were a better way to get information on the Legendarium and Acheron I'd be all over it. But based on the conversation you and Roxy overheard, this is our best lead." She flips a page in _Communicating With Ghost, Demons, and Dead Souls_.

Roxy steps around the desk and looks over the spell Mirta's working on. "So, if this works, it'll bring back a...living conciseness?"

"Yes. My personal powers will feed into the spell. It'll last as long as I can keep it up, which judging by the looks of the spell will be about...fifteen minutes, at maximum. I don't have as much dark energy as I used to."

Roxy nods; it's odd to think Mirta had _ever_ been a witch, but this and her power display at Cloud Tower had been a good reminder. "When can you launch the spell?"

She adds a few drops of something to a small wooden bowl. "Right...now. I just say a sentence and we're in business."

"Okay then. Go ahead and -"

"Actually," Daphne hold up a hand. "If I may say something before she proceeds?"

Roxy's normally snarky responses die when she sees the serious look on Daphne's face. "...Yes?"

"I know that Mirta has had some...experience with the man we're about to summon. I do as well." Thoren looks up, surprised, but remains silent. "We know what he's capable of. You and Thoren, though, have never seen him face to face. No matter what he says or does, keep your guard up."

Daphne's straightforward attitude causes Roxy to stand up straighter. "Understood. We'll be on guard."

Seemingly satisfied, Daphne turns and nods at Mirta. "Do it."

Mirta nods and turns to the book. "_In nomine_ _de Aquam Stella e Draach Flamma, arcesso… a Baltor."_

The mixture in the bowl explodes in a white light. Roxy shields her eyes and dives behind a desk, feeling hot wind blow past her. She hears Mirta gasp, and a sound suspiciously similar to a Phantom Blade deploying. After a few seconds, the wind dies down, and stars stop dancing behind Roxy's eyes. She cracks one open and sees Thoren up against the far wall, sword drawn. Mirta has an arm covering her eyes, the other hand gripping the table. Daphne is the only one who looks unaffected, standing tall and confident with her eyes directed to the center of the room. Roxy follows her gaze, and - though she shouldn't be - she's surprised to see another figure sitting lazily on top of one of the classroom desks.

She had seen pictures in history books and a few documentaries she'd found on the history of Magix, but they didn't do justice. Long red blonde, a burgundy coat, and crystal blue eyes that were fixated upon his hand as he slowly clenched and unclenched his fist, as though trying to figure out where he was and what he was capable of. There was a sense of sophistication about him, something that almost makes Roxy feel inferior. And when he speaks, his voice boomed through the small room, cutting through silence and making the hair on Roxy's neck stand on end.

"Well, well," Baltor says, still not lifting his eyes. "A summons spell, am I correct? Certainly better than Obsidian where I've been floating the last three years. How nice of you to finally remember I exist, Bloom." Roxy's eyes widen, but he continues speaking before anyone else can. "And please, don't act surprised I know it's you. Dragon Fire connection; don't you remember, darling?"

Roxy looks over at Daphne. A cold smirk is on her face. "Of course, darling."

His eyes snap up, and his jaw drops. "Daphne?"

The smirk widens as she leans against her desk. "So nice to see you remember me. It's been, what, twenty years? I was worried you'd forgotten about me after you killed me."

Roxy's eyes widen. She glances back to Baltor, but finds an equally dark look on his face. "The Ancestral Witches had already placed that spell on you. You can't really blame me for activating it, can you?"

"Yes, I can." she glares.

"Well, I'm sure we can discuss it later date. Or maybe after you've introduced me to your friends," he turns his head to face Roxy, and she blinks in surprise. "I don't believe I've made their acquaintance."

Something about his gaze makes her squirm. She takes a deep breath. "My name is Roxy. Princess of Tir Nan Og."

"Someone managed to resuscitate that place? I certainly have missed a lot."

"After your widespread thievery, I'm surprised nothing was missing when they took inventory." Roxy manages to qipp.

"Ah, a biting attitude. I've never seen _that_ in a fairy before." He gives an unfriendly smile and turns to face Thoren. "Along with another Eraklyon dignitary. Thomas or something."

"Thoren." he responds, eyes narrowed.

"Same difference. And you…" he trails off as his gaze again shifts, this time to Mirta. "Unlike those two you do seem _vaguely_ familiar."

"Mirta," she responds icily. "You tried to kill me _and_ my best friend Lucy."

Baltor merely smirks. "Sorry?"

"Okay, yes, you guys can argue grievances later," Roxy steps between Mirta and Baltor. "Right now we're here for more pressing reasons. And our time is limited."

"Ah, yes, the interrogation...which seems to be short six about participants. Where _is _the famous Winx Club?"

"Dead."

Baltor blinks. "Pardon?"

"They're dead," Daphne looks towards the window, eyes glossy. "A week ago."

Roxy watches Baltor for a reaction. He seems surprised, crystal eyes wide and lips parted. When Daphne won't return his eye contact, his gaze turns to Roxy. "The Specialists?"

"Gone as well," Roxy takes a shaky breath. "Nabu died a year before they did."

"All of them? Even Bloom?"

Roxy swears she almost sees a flash of hope in his eyes. "Even Bloom."

He closes his eye for a few moments, and when they open again it's as if there's a film over them, blocking out whatever emotions were really there. "Well, though I am impressed someone finally succeed at the task, I get the feeling I'm not here to receive a funeral invitation."

"We think you might have information on the guy who arranged their deaths." Mirta says, glancing down at the book. "A fourth of the power supply is gone."

Thoren nods and turns to face Baltor. "Does the name Acheron mean anything to you?"

Immediately, the smirk on Baltor's face disappears. "Acheron killed them?"

"You _know_ him?" Mirta asks.

"I did once."

"Care to elaborate on it?" Daphne's voice sounds anything but polite.

Baltor's eyes narrow. "And what do I gain by telling you anything? You have to be desperate to try and contact me, so I would recommend you add a little sugar to your words, Your Highness."

Daphne looks like she wants to throw a punch, but Roxy intervenes. "Alright, yes, we do need you. We think Acheron could be trying to break out of the Legendarium, with the help of an… old acquaintance of mine. We need to know more about him if we want to even _dream_ of stopping him. And right now, you may as well be the expert."

He smirks, but Roxy can see some kindness in it. "I doubt I can do much for you."

"Then just tell us what you know. Like _how_ you know Acheron?"

There is a silence, and Baltor pinches the bridge of his nose. "Very well. I was on Domino a good six months before the Ancestral witches launched their attack. I spent a good deal of that time undercover, but I still went out and around the main city. I wasn't difficult to locate. Four weeks before the preliminary battles were to start, I was approached by a man who had figured out my...ulterior motives."

"And that man was Acheron." Roxy fills in the blank.

Baltor nods. "He gave me an ultimatum; either we joined forces and shared the power the Ancestral Witches had given me, or he went to Oritel and Marion with what he knew."

Thoren raises an eyebrow. "How'd you manage to talk him out of that?"

"With a deal of my own. If Acheron could defeat me in battle, I'd let him work with me and take a majority of the powers. If he lost…well he'd be gone, and he wouldn't have to worry about it."

Roxy's eyes widened. "So..._you_ imprisoned him in the Legendarium?"

Baltor chuckles. "Sadly, no. Acheron designed the Legendarium himself as a means to defeat _me_. But he tampered with powers far beyond his control. When I learned he'd been imprisoned by his own creation, I tried to find the Legendarium, but to no avail. I even searched for it during my brief freedom from the Omega Dimension - which led to _quite_ the little adventure with your sister…" a smirk crosses Baltor's face again as he stares at Daphne.

Her hands ball into fists. "How," she said, pointedly ignoring his previous comment, "were you planning to control the Legendarium? Maybe we could try your original plan?"

"I'd hardly call it a plan. As I said the Legendarium controls powers far beyond your imagination. Acheron's imprisonment in the book is...complicated, if I correctly understand it. He can now control the forces in the book, but he's also now a part of it."

"...So an external force has to give him orders for the powers to be released?" Thoren fills in. "That's why Selina's involved."

Baltor nods. "I was always stronger than Acheron. I knew that even in the book I could make him do my bidding. Summon monsters, secure a few planets...that was my 'plan.'"

Roxy look him in the eye. "Do we have a reasonable chance of taking control of the Legendarium?"

"No," the bluntness of his response makes Roxy's heart drop. "The Winx may have stood a chance, but I can already see you aren't on their level of magical ability. You'd need a miracle...and maybe two more fairies."

"I have Sirenix," Daphne interjects, sounding offended. "And Roxy - "

He held up a hand. "It won't matter. Let me take a wild guess; your little friend who's helping Acheron has never acted this way in her life?" No one responds, and Baltor smirks again. "I see. That would be a result of the Legendarium overshadowing her. Dark energy, much like the way I took control of the witches in Cloud Tower."

Mirta glares at him.

"But there's a good chance the girl is human," Daphne says. "Roxy said she never exhibited signs of magical power beforehand."

Baltor raises an eyebrow. "Impossible. The Legendarium wouldn't be able to take control of her unless she had some sort of magical ability, or unless someone else commanded it to."

"There's a legend that allows mortals to be taken over by magical beings?" Mirta says skeptically. Roxy notices she's gripping the table with both hands; her magic is running low.

"One that allows magical beings to take over mortals," Baltor shoots back. "Nevertheless, you still won't have a chance controlling that book."

Roxy hides a panicked look and turns to face the window. She watches Daphne's eyes widen and Thoren bite his lip. The only one who didn't show any reaction was Mirta, and Roxy figured that was because she was already so tired from her powers being drained.

"However," her head snaps back Baltor's voice. "You have another option."

"We do?" Daphne and Roxy say together.

Baltor nods as he drums his fingers against the desk. "Based on the research I had done, there is a way to permanently lock the Legendarium. Creating a specialized key to lock it should do the trick."

"Guys," Mirta says, somewhat urgently. Roxy turns to see her face is pale. "I don't think I can keep this up much longer."

Thoren goes over and put an arm around her shoulders, helping to keep her supported. Daphne puts a hand on her wrist, the first sympathetic gesture Roxy's seen from her. Mirta nods and smiles at her,and Daphne turns back to Baltor. "Tell us how to make the key."

His eyes narrow, but he complies. "You'll need two things; firstly, a Fantasy Emerald. Combine that with the Silver Spear and you'll be able to lock it from the outside."

"Right. And we find this stuff _where_ exactly?"

He smirks again. "Why inside the Legendarium, of course."

Thoren's jaw drops. "The last time we got close to that thing Selina nearly mowed us over!"

"That's because you're not able to get into it," Baltor snaps. "The only other way to access the Legendarium outside of it's holder is through the Ancestral wands. And before you ask," he turns and looks pointedly at Daphne. "I don't know where to find them."

Her eyes narrowed. "How do you _not_ know?"

"Because just as I was reading that part _your_ sister blasted me into a wall."

Suddenly it's as if Baltor flickers. Roxy blinks and he's gone, but by the time she blinks again he's back. He falls off the side of the desk and lands on his back. Mirta gasps and reaches out to stable herself on the table. "I'm okay," she says as Thoren opens his mouth to ask. "But I'm almost out of power."

Roxy nods and goes over to Baltor, offering a hand to help him up. He surprisingly accepts it without comment, and she's surprised how solid it feels. "You said you read about this stuff," Roxy says. "Where specifically did you read it?"

"Various books I...commandeered." Baltor responds. "They ranged in origin and power. But no doubt they've all been returned to their respective worlds."

"Do you remember any of them?"

"A few…" he flexes his hand. Maybe it's Roxy's imagination, but it's starting to look like a projection. "I can list them if you'd like."

Roxy turns, but Daphne's already grabbing a pen and paper from the desk. She passes them to Baltor, and Roxy notices she avoids touching his hand, even though it's gloved. "Shorthand," Daphne says, already turning away from him to check on Mirta. "I can still read it."

Baltor nods and starts scribbling on the paper. "These aren't all of them...but it's a start. These will provide background and likely lead you to other sources." After a few more seconds the pen literally falls through his hand.

Roxy leans over and looks at the list. As per Daphne's instruction it's all shorthand, written in symbols that must be native to Domino. There are more than she expected. "Thank you," she says quietly.

"Don't thank me yet," he responds. "Who knows if this will help you."

"But you did try to help," Roxy says. "I… Bloom would have appreciated it."

He gives a small smile. "Perhaps. You know," he continues, almost as an afterthought, "if Bloom really is dead, that means her Dragon Flame is floating around somewhere."

Roxy raises an eyebrow and glances back at Thoren, Daphne, and Mirta. They aren't paying attention to them, and it's obvious from Baltor's tone they aren't supposed to hear him. "What does that mean?" she asks, turning back to face him.

"Dragon Fire is a different kind of power. Its essence holds the living conscience of whoever has its power. So theoretically…"

"...You can contact her." Roxy's eyes go wide, and Baltor smirks at her. "But...how will we know if you find her?"

"I guess you'll just have to activate the spell again."

"But you saw what it's doing to Mirta -"

"Who said you needed Mirta?" Baltor says. "You can launch the spell on your own. And I'll help you keep it stable for far longer if necessary."

There's a suspicious feeling seeping into Roxy's gut. "I don't know about that."

"Roxy, we're cutting the spell." Daphne's voice cuts through their conversation. She jumps up and turns to face them. Daphne doesn't seem to notice but instead turns to face Baltor. "Thank you...for your help. I really do appreciate it."

Baltor smirks and gives a mocking bow. "Of course, Your Highness."

Daphne rolls her eyes, but turns to Mirta. "Cut it."

Mirta nods and waves her hand.

Baltor turns and gives Roxy a smile that send goosebumps down her arms. "Think about it." he says, loud enough for just her to hear.

And then he's gone.

For a few minutes after Baltor's disappeared, it's quiet. Mirts sits in Daphne's chair, trying to regain her breath. Thoren goes over and puts an arm around Daphne, who's sitting and staring off out the window. Roxy crosses her arms over her chest, trying to get Baltor's words out of her head. Bloom had been right - he was a master manipulator.

Finally, she looks down and sees the paper he'd written on. "Do you know what these symbols mean?" she asks, taking the page and bringing it over.

Daphne snaps out of her dream stage, taking the paper. She scans it for a few seconds. "Yes. A lot of these are magical history books, but they're old. Probably have some decent protection on them."

"Please don't tell me we're going to steal them," Mirta pipes up, sounding tired and annoyed.

"Of course not," Daphne says. "Domino has good relations with most of these kingdoms. All we'll have to do is ask to see them."

Thoren nods. "So where do we start?"

Roxy shrugs. "How about the first one on the list? What is it?"

Daphne glances down. "_History of Magical Legends_ from Linphea."

* * *

**_In the next chapter: _**_A party goes down, Roy goes down, and a battle goes down. In that order._


	6. Vodka and Virgin Strawberry Daiquiris

_**In the last chapter: **__After a history lesson from Baltor, Roxy and the gang decide to head to Linphea to start researching how to get the pieces of the Legendarium key to lock Acheron away for good._

**A/N: **Based on the length of time it took to complete this versus when I said it would be up, I've made some modifications to the update plan. Here's the new plan: there is no plan.

* * *

Chapter 5: Vodka and Virgin Strawberry Daiquiris

* * *

While Roxy tries to stress the importance of getting immediate access to the books on Baltor's list, Daphne emphasises the importance of getting it done quietly. As annoyed as Roxy is she makes a point; if Selina or the Trix find out what they're up to, the magic dimension could be transformed into a war zone. Again. And the last thing anybody needs after the death of the Winx is a fear their planet could be targeted at any minute.

In the end, Daphne wins the argument. And after a series of phone calls, the date is set; Friday night in Lulia, Linphea's capital city. The Council, royal family, and several distinguished guests were invited to celebrate of the first day of spring. And Daphne had made sure Roxy, Thoren, and Mirta were all on that list.

Well, them plus one.

It was that plus one that met the small group outside the gates of the palace courtyard, dressed to the nines in a navy suit and dark green tie.

"Roy!" Daphne smiles at him. "Thank you so much for joining us."

Daphne had suggested asking Roy to come along. Roxy hadn't seen or heard from him since the Incident, but didn't try to get a hold of him. She couldn't imagine sitting out on one mission and then discovering everyone on it had died. The only feeling she could think to associate it with was pain; Roy's feelings were likely much more complex.

To her surprise, though, Roy returns the smile and gives Daphne a small hug. "Good to see you too, Daph. How are you?"

"I'm… alright." she says after a moment.

"That sounds about as accurate as my emotions." He squeezes her shoulder and moves to shake Thoren's hand, and hug Roxy. Despite his calm demeanour, she notices his shoulders shaking.

"And this is Mirta," Roxy gestures over to the redhead, dressed in a sleek black lace jumpsuit.

"We've met before, briefly." Roy nods at her. "How are you?"

"The same," Mirta manages a small smile. "Should we get this over with?"

"Sounds good to me." Roy shoves his hands into his pockets and falls into step with the rest of the group. "I'm not excited to be stared at like a museum display."

Daphne purses her lips. "We won't be out in the main party long. The book we need is in the library, and we're being escorted there by a few close friends of the royal family."

"Will Krystal be there?" Roxy asks as an afterthought. She briefly recalls the pink-haired fairy in her same year at Alfea. During the week Roxy had seen her every now and then. She seemed depressed, and though Roxy felt sorry for her, she also remembered staying up with Flora one night while she bawled her eyes out, convinced she was going to lose Helia to her. After surviving high school with 'Queen Bee Mitzi', Roxy had little tolerance for girls who made moves on guys in relationships.

Roxy is spared having to worry further. "The princess has royal obligations tonight." Thoren says. "She won't be joining us."

"Obligations?" Mirta raises an eyebrow. "I thought this was a party."

"She has a speech to make. It's customary for a celebration like this."

"Speaking of celebration…" Mirta trails off, and Roxy finally takes in the courtyard. Lights are strung up from trees, flowers of all colors are on display, and waitresses in purple dresses walk around carrying trays of champagne. There are a lot of people, too. Most are dressed in Linphea-style clothing, but a few are obviously from off-world. It seems like a wonderful celebration.

Until Roxy notices a few men on the perimeter of the courtyard, swords swinging from sheats on their waists.

"Umm...what's with the security detail?" Roxy glances at Daphne, who seems to be the party expert.

"They're from the Linphea College, so they're warriors-in-training. But they're here for defense purposes."

Mirta huffs and takes a champagne glass from a passing waitress. "In other words, they're scared."

"Everyone is." Thoren responds. "No one knows when Selina and the Trix are going to attack again."

"Knowing the witches, it won't be long," Mirta says bitterly.

"I certainly hope you're wrong." Daphne says, scanning the crowd. "I'm going to go find our contact. There's a side entrance to the right side of the fountain; meet me there, alright?"

"I'll go with you." Thoren says.

Roxy resists the urge to roll her eyes. "Please don't take a 'makeout break.'"

She's surprised to see Daphne blush. "I would never…"

"We'll resist. Come on, Daph." Thoren drapes an arm around her waist and leads her into the crowd. Before they disappear, he turns back and winks at Roxy.

"He's almost too good for her," Mirta mutters, and leads the way to the door.

Roxy's lips quirk. "You sound jealous."

"Oh that is _not_ the problem, don't you worry. It's just...how can he be so calm around the Queen of Bossy?"

"Actually," Roy speaks up for the first time, "I think they're a good balance for each other. They've both been trained as royals, but Daphne's much more quiet than he is."

"Quiet?" Mirta laughs. "More like extremely snippy."

"I don't blame her. This can't be an easy time for her."

It's that comment that finally causes Mirta to fall silent.

Roxy glances at Roy. "This can't be an easy time for you, either."

Roy sighs. "I didn't say it was. It's...hard. But Aisha wouldn't want me to spend my time moping." A small smile crosses his face. "She'd probably slug my shoulder and tell me to man up."

Roxy smiles at the thought. "I'm sure you've heard it a thousand times, but...you were a really positive influence on her. Especially after Nabu….you know."

"Yeah," he says, quietly. "I know."

* * *

There must be more people than expected, because after 10 minutes Daphne and Thoren haven't met up with them. The three stand near the side door, bored out of their minds. Roxy keeps looking at the crowd for a flash of blonde or the black and green of Daphne's dress. She sees none.

Which has left more...trivial forms of entertainment.

"Would you rather; write a 20 page research paper on the history of the Black Mud Swamp, _or_," Mirta looks around the lawn. "Be the date of that guy over there in the lime green suit."

"I think I'd take the paper," Roxy shudders. "He looks sleazy."

"I'd be his date," Roy says instead. "After one night you can ignore him for the rest of your life. You've got to spend at least a week on the paper."

Mirta smiles lightly. "What if you're not his type, Roy?"

He smirks right back. "Hey now; tall, dark, blonde, and handsome? Who _wouldn't_ be my type?"

"Me," both girls said in unison before the three laughed. Roxy valued the sound; it'd be a while since she heard it.

"Seriously though," Mirta trailed off, looking around the courtyard. "If those two don't get back here soon, I'll tear the place apart myself."

"I don't believe they'd think too highly of you in that case," Roy observes.

"To hell what they think." Mirta looks towards the door. "Let's just go. Who's with me?"

Roxy is about to respond, but she sees a flash of blonde coming towards them. "Wait, isn't that -"

She stops mid-sentence, because it almost certainly _is_ Daphne coming through the crowd with Thoren and a young looking girl in a pink and blue floral dress. But there's a fourth person with them; a man Roxy doesn't recognize. He's light-skinned with curly brown hair and a disgruntled look.

She doesn't make out much more of his features because the moment his eyes land on Roy, he runs forward and socks him in the nose.

"Nex, no!" the girl yells.

"Roy!" Roxy moves to push the other boy off him. "Hey, let him go!"

"Aisha's dead and it's all your fault!"

Roxy stops cold. She doesn't recognize the voice but she _does_ recognize the weight behind the words; pain and anger. Misdirected pain and anger, but based on experience it didn't really matter who said it so long as someone listened.

In the moments she's frozen, Roy elbows the other boy - Nex - in the gut, knocking him back so he's sitting on his chest. "Go to hell, jackass!" he spits.

"Alright, both of you, that's enough. Nobody's responsible for anyone else's death." Mirta easily steps behind Nex and yanks him to his feet (wearing a jumpsuit was the smartest move she'd made tonight). "Though based on what I just saw, it _can_ be argued you're a jackass."

Nex glares at Mirta like he's about to shove her away and make another dive for Roy's face, but Mirta lights up a ball of energy in her free hand. "Try me, pal."

The light almost works to snap Roxy awake, and she goes to help Roy up. "Oh my gosh, are you ok? You're bleeding."

He wipes a sleeve across his face, and the trail of blood running from his nose vanishes. "Been hit harder by a lot tougher things. Including doors."

Daphne - who had been standing back with Thoren and the other girl, finally steps in. "That's enough."

Roy's eyes narrow. "_That's_ enough? Your 'trusted contact' just gave me a nosebleed and more than likely a black eye to match. Was that not enough for you, _Your Highness_? Where the hell do you find these people; jail?"

"Alright, alright, I'll take responsibility for this one." Thoren steps forward, his hands up in a gesture of peace. "I asked Nex to come along; he's studying Magic Theory at the Linphea College, so he knows how to navigate the library. Plus he works closely with Miele."

"Who?"

"Me," the young girl is the last to step forward. Her eyes appear to be shining with unshed tears. "I'm Miele. I wasn't going to come, but I begged Nex to take me."

"What business does a young fairy like you have in matters like these?" Mirta asks. Roxy recognizes the suspicion in her voice.

For the first time since the fight, Nex speaks. "Miele was Flora's sister," he says pointedly. "Practically everyone knows that."

Roxy watches Mirta's eyes go wide. "_I_ knew that. Just forgot her name is all." She glances at Nex, then realizing she's still gripping his shirt, shoves him away.

"I'm so sorry," Miele begins again. "I didn't mean to cause trouble -"

"There's no worry." Roy interjects. He's rubbing the side of his face, but still manages to give her a polite smile. "You didn't clock me."

The young girl smiles a little, and then her gaze goes to Nex. "Well," she says pointedly. "Don't you have something to say?"

Roxy can't help but smile. For such a young girl, she seemed very commanding.

Nex looks annoyed, but still turns to Roy. "My apologies." he says flatly.

"Accepted." the other boys replies in the same tone.

"Great," Mirta says sarcastically. "We're all friends. Can we get this show on the road before anyone tries to take a swing at _me_?"

Daphne looks ready to take Mirta up on the offer, but still nods. "Nex? Are you prepared to lead the way?"

He straightens up and nods. Roxy notes despite the whirlwind few minutes, he appears more calm. "Of course. If go through that door and make a right down the hall, and go all the way to end of the corridor."

Mirta nods and yanks it open.

On the other side, Icy leans against an end table, examining her nails. "Well, you certainly took your sweet time."

Roxy's jaw drops.

Before she can even think to transform, Icy shoots her hand out and sends a barrage of ice crystals at them. Everyone falls back, and the noise is enough to alert both the guards and guests within close proximity. The air drops by at least twenty degrees, and Roxy feels the bodice of her dress tear. Beads slide on the nearby ice.

She turns her head to see Miele, on her back with a dazed look. "You okay?" she calls out.

Miele simply nods.

"We do _hate_ to break up a good party," another voice chimes in. Roxy turns her head the other way to see Darcy, who has apparently materialized out of thin air and is now posed near a display of fruit. She carelessly pops a piece of watermelon into her mouth, and Roxy involuntarily shivers.

_They don't even think of us as a threat._

"But when you aren't even invited, I think it's only fair to raise a little hell." the wind picks up, and Roxy realizes its the third sister speaking - Stormy. Despite her time at Alfea she's never come face to face with these girls before. And when she'd thought about it before, she always imagined the Winx at her side for support.

All dreams died, apparently.

Roxy manages to sit up, and finds most of the others have done the same. Directly in front of her she sees Mirta glaring at Icy, a cut going across her cheek. "Maybe if you actually tried to behave like normal people you'd get more invitations."

Icy's smirk widens. "Why, Mirta, is that you? I hardly recognize you without your dweeby clothes and your little girlfriend holding your hand. What in Magix's name happened to you?"

It's Mirta's turn to smirk. "Unlike you, I grew up."

Before Icy can retort, Mirta launches a blast that send her straight into a hedge. "And Lucy is _not_ my girlfriend!"

"Transformations, now!" Roxy's hears Daphne from somewhere on the right. She doesn't bother to look, just summons her Believix. After a moment she feels herself lifting off the ground, and Roxy opens her eyes.

The scene is already chaotic. People are running for the gates, and the guards are slowly advancing toward them. Roxy quickly realizes they won't be any help when she sees the panic in their eyes. But a few stray fairies loom behind them - women with powers who attended and by their own will have chosen to help. Roxy thinks she can see Krystal towards the back. Looking to her right, she sees Daphne, Mirta, and - to her utter shock - Miele. The girl's form is basic, but it's better than being defenseless.

"So," Roxy's eyes drift downward to Roy, who already has a sword in one hand and a ball of magic in the other. "Don't tell me you three have come looking for a fight?"

"Don't tell _me_ you never took basic math in school."

Roxy's eyes go wide. She snaps her head to look behind her, scared of what will be there. "Selina?"

A girl in a long black dress floats no more than ten feet behind Roxy, the Legendarium in her hand and a smirk on her face. "Hello Roxy. Its been _so_ long, hasn't it?"

She raises a hand and lighting shoots from her fingertips, hitting Roxy's left wing and sending her plummeting to the ground.

"I never got to thank you for locking me in a library last night," Selina's voice is mixed with a loud ringing as Roxy raises herself up onto her forearms. The point where her wings connect to her back is burning.

She somehow managed to narrow her eyes at Selina. "I never got to thank _you_ for _killing_ my best friends."

Roxy doesn't know what she expects, but it certainly isn't Selina's widening smirk. "Oops."

Suddenly a sword flies through the air, grazing Selina's leg and sending her to the ground as well. She somehow manages to hold onto the Legendarium. Roxy looks in the direction the sword came from and finds Nex at her side, offering a hand. "You okay?"

The last few minutes of arguments between them are forgotten, and Roxy uses his help to get back on her feet. "I've been better. What do we do?"

Roxy glaces up where Mirta and Darcy are currently throwing purple and red bolts of magic at each other. "Fight them, I guess? I'm as new to this as you are. But," she throws up a shield to deflect a blast, "you may want to get Miele out of here."

Nex smiles. "I can watch her back, but I wouldn't count on her sitting this one out. She has a well placed grudge against these witches."

"So do I, but I'm not thirteen."

"She's sixteen."

"No one cares!" Roxy looks up to see Daphne hovering above them. She's surveying the yard with a critical glare. "I've lost Icy; you need to help me find her. Let Nex take care of Miele."

Roxy knows better than to question the order. She nods at Nex and by some miracle manages to get her wings to lift her. They aren't as powerful as they usually are, but they'll do given the current situation. "Where'd you last see her?"

"Mirta sent her through that window," Daphne points. "I expected her to come right back out, but she hasn't."

The animal fairy's eyes scan the yard. Mirta and Roy were engaging Darcy while Thoren, Nex, and Miele kept Stormy from getting to the civilians security was evacuating. "Selina's gone too."

"Damn it," Daphne swears, and heads through the opening in the window. Roxy bites her lip and follows.

The interior hallway is coated with ice, but other than that it's silent. "Why would Icy be going all Queen Elsa in here?" Roxy asks.

"Queen who?"

She sighs. "Nevermind. Why is it frozen in here?"

"It'd be difficult to get through here without something to melt the ice. Or wings." Daphne adds, almost as an afterthought.

"Okay, so that means they don't want people getting in here, right?"

Daphne picks up on her idea. "Which means they aren't here to hurt anyone. They want something in the palace."

The two take off down the hall, following the trail of ice. "I don't understand," Daphne yells, "Linphea doesn't have much in terms weapons and legends for Selina to bring to life. Based on what Baltor told us it seems it only has information on _locking_ the Legendarium. And while destroying it would certainly hinder us, they don't know we know about it. So what's the game?"

Roxy tries to think. "Well some of the information must talk about how to get _into_ the Legendarium; maybe that's what they want?"

"Why would they need to get into it though?"

"...Maybe it's not to get _in_." Roxy turns to look at Daphne. "Maybe they want to get Acheron _out_."

Her eyes go wide. "Oh my God."

Roxy's fists clench. "They're going to reach that library before we do."

"Maybe. But we know the specific book they need. We may still be one step ahead."

The ice trail stops in front of two intricately carved wooden doors. They're frozen in a thick layer of ice. "Icy certainly didn't want us bothering her, that's for sure."

"I can melt it." Daphne says, already charging her magic between her hands. It bounces towards the doors, and the ice quickly starts to melt away

Roxy bites her lip. Something didn't feel right. "Maybe we should look for another way in. This seems too easy."

"Because Icy's an idiot," Daphne's voice is bitter. "And once she's cornered, Selina's precious little book isn't going to be able to save her."

"Daphne just listen -"

"I don't have time to listen; they're _in there_." The ice has completely melted from the doors. "Now you can come in there with me and help, or you can wait out here. What will it be?"

She shuts her eyes tightly. But after a moment summons a ball of magic to her hand. "Open it."

Daphne nods, satisfied, and moves to open the door. It creaks open to an empty looking library devoid of ice. Books line the walls, but the place appears untouched.

"What the hell?" Daphne starts, and slowly flies into the room. Roxy follows a few feet behind, carefully examining the door frames.

She notices a small dark blue ball on a hinge a moment too late.

Before she can say anything, ice crystals shoot out from all directions. She feels them disintegrate into magic as they hit her skin, surrounding her in a dark blue cloud. She turns and sees the same thing happening to Daphne. Roxy tries to make her wings move, but they stop fluttering and she takes another hard fall to the ground. Her left one won't work anymore, and the magic is slowly paralyzing her.

A soft laugh reaches her ear, and Roxy watches a pair of black heels enter her line of vision and stand in front of her. "Don't worry, you'll only be knocked out temporarily. But thank you for leading us to what we - or should I say _you_ needed, Roxy. I hope you don't mind that we're borrowing it. You should know from middle school I _do_ hate waiting for new books."

Roxy tries to respond, but red swims into her vision, and it's too difficult to hold up her head. When she lets it fall, everything goes black.

* * *

She wakes up to the sound of a phone ringing.

When Roxy blinks her eyes open, snowflakes are stuck on her eyelashes. She feels groggy, but she's also feels like she could be in the beginning stages of hypothermia. It's reminiscent of when Aurora tried to freeze her to death in her fortress two years ago. Looking around, the entire library is now covered in a layer of ice. Everything from the shelves to the couches are frozen. A flash of blonde catches her eye, and Roxy turns to see Daphne passed out next to her. Her fairy form is gone, leaving her black and green dress, but she's breathing easy, which is the most important thing. There's something resting near her hand.

The ringtone sounds again, and Roxy recognized her own ringtone. Reaching into the small pocket of her dress, she pulls her phone out and hits 'accept call' from the unknown number. "...Yeah?"

"Roxy?"

She shuts her eyes. "Hey, Roy."

There's a sigh of relief. "Where the _hell_ are you and Daphne. We were worried you'd been captured. Or worse."

Roxy hears the implication behind his words. "I'm sorry. We got jumped by Icy and Selina in the library. How long have we been out?"

"At least a half hour. That's when the other two witches disappeared. We managed to get some good hits on them - even Miele got some - but we lost this fight. Did you get the book at least?"

_The book_. Roxy turns to look at the book by Daphne's hand. The title is a match to the one on Baltor's list. She reaches out with her free hand (she can barely feel her legs, never mind enough to move them) and pulls the book towards her. It feels oddly light, and Roxy quirks an eyebrow and flips it open.

The pages have been hollowed out all the way though. Only a few letters from the beginning and end of every line are visible.

"Roxy?" Roy asks.

She sighs. "No. Looks like the witches were just here to make sure we didn't get what we needed."

Roy sighs, too. "Okay. As long as you're safe, that's what's important. How can we get to you?"

"There should be a pretty obvious trail of ice. You and Miele can melt it easily enough. Daphne should probably get some medical attention, too. We're popsicles in here and she's still unconscious. But breathing." she adds hastily.

"Okay. Got any plans other than that?"

Roxy sighs and puts a hand to her head. For the thousandth time in the last few weeks, she feels like an utter failure. "No. No I don't."

* * *

_**In the next chapter: **_Boys. And lots of them. (And witches)


	7. Chivalry is Kinda Dead

_**In the last chapter: **__Roxy, Daphne, Mirta, Thoren, and Roy attend a party on Linphea to begin gathering information on the Legendarium. Sadly, Selina and the Trix are one step ahead, and get to the information before they can._

* * *

Chapter 6: Chivalry Is Kinda Dead

* * *

The defeat on Linphea is difficult, to say the least. It takes an hour and two rounds of healing magic before Roxy can feel her Winx again. Daphne doesn't wake up for a bit either, and when she does the doctor's recommend at least a day of bedrest. Daphne only agrees so long as they keep quiet about their trip to Linphea; the last thing they needed was the media (or worse, Faragonda) catching on to their plans. Along with Roxy and Daphne, the other fairies and heroes who aided in the battle come out with serious injuries.

Two people die. Roxy sees their forms underneath sheets as she makes her way to the ship taking everyone to Magix. One is male, probably from the Linphea College judging by the way the other boys had gathered off to the side. Nex and Miele are near them, despite looking pretty beat up themselves. Their heads are bowed and his hand is on her shoulder. The group is also joined by the King and Queen of Linphea, both of whom were holding onto each other with tears streaming down their faces.

Roxy only catches a glimpse of the other body. Pink hair peeks out from underneath the black sheet. She doesn't know what to think.

There is very little talk on the flight back. It's a small ship, the same model Red Fountain uses in their training. Thoren pilots and Roy co-pilots while the girls sit on various chairs, looking over readings every so often. Even though the space is modest Roxy can feel claustrophobic weight bearing down on her.

"They're getting bolder," Mirta is the first one to speak up. "Darkar, Tritanus, even when they acted alone during my year at Cloud Tower, nothing like this ever happened. Sure they'd raise hell and hypnotize people for personal gain, but they never _killed._"

Silence falls for a few minutes before Roy finally responds. "You know this means they won't stop, then."

There's a sigh from the redhead. "Yeah."

Another long pause. Roxy breaks it this time, her eyes going from person to person. "So what do we do?"

No one responds, and the rest of the flight is quiet.

* * *

The next morning, a pounding at Roxy's door wakes her up. She almost ignores it until she hears Nova growl on the other side of the room, and decides it isn't fair to force her roommate awake at - she glances over at the clock - 6:24. Roxy slips her feet into a pair of worn out moccasin shoes and shuffles to the door.

Mirta and Roy are on the other side, already dressed and with drinks in their hands. There's a backpack slung over Roy's shoulder, and under Mirta's arm is the book she'd used to summon Baltor a few days ago. "This is yours," Roy hands her a coffee with 'magic espresso shot' marked on the side. "Drink up, get dressed, and meet us in the courtyard."

Wordlessly, she takes the drink and rubs the sleep from her eyes. She whispers a few syllables and the door shuts behind her so not to wake Nova. "It's not even seven. And it's Saturday."

"I know, and we got in late," Mirta says in response. "But I was up all night thinking. Selina and the Trix are much further ahead of us than we originally thought. We need to level the playing field again."

"I agree, but how do we even go about that?"

"Roy stayed in Magix for the night, and I texted him at about four -"

"Three," he cuts in, sounding a little bitter.

"Whatever, it was early and he yelled at me," Mirta waves him off and sets the spell book down on the coffee table. "But he agreed we needed a plan of action."

Roxy nods and takes a sip of the coffee. She can feel it starting to wake her up already. "So?"

"So, yours truly looked through the list of books Baltor gave us and managed to snag translations or parts of five of them. But some of them need advanced translating software, and other parts have spells we need to do to unlock extra data."

"You think it could help us?"

"It certainly wouldn't hurt to try. We could get some really useful information on the Legendarium, and on Acheron. Plus I didn't mention the best part."

"And that is?" Roxy asks.

"Daphne's still on bedrest. So it's just the three of us."

A small smile crosses Roxy's face. "Good news, indeed. So get dressed and meet you in the potion's lab -"

"No. Without Daphne we don't have access to it, at least not without looking suspicious to Faragonda. We're going to use the labs at Red Fountain."

"And how is that _less_ suspicious?"

"I've got a friend in the advanced hero training program, which involves studying a lot of ancient languages that need translation software to understand. And another one of my friends does some...part time teaching for the guys with magic powers. She can help us out."

"Plus I've been hanging out there lately," Roy adds. "Saladin and I went through a lot of the guy's stuff to return to their home planets - or put in storage, in Riven's case. Off topic question; how is he?"

Roxy sighs. "Not great. The hospital still has my number in case of something really bad, but he's still comatose. They don't think he's gonna wake up anytime soon. I stopped calling a few days ago for updates."

Roy nods, obviously trying not to looked crushed. "Well, we can hope for the best then."

"Yeah," Roxy tries her best to sound positive, but it does little good on her part. Instead she snaps her fingers, changing her pajamas into jeans and her old Gardenia High School sweatshirt. "Anyway though, ancient languages and code-breaking? Shall we?"

Mirta smiles, equally grateful for the distraction. "We shall."

* * *

Roxy had been to Red Fountain a handful of times before, but it was mostly for joint school ceremonies and to visit the guys with the Winx. This is the first time she's ever walked through hallways with classroom doors lining them, and seen students up close. They seem to have a similar aura to the fairies at Alfea - not outright crying in the hallways, but there's a sense of sadness and defeat about them. Especially with some of the older students.

"How long has it been like this?" she whispers to Roy.

He looks grim. "A while."

They wind through corridors until they come to a hallway with doors labeled 'Advanced Studies Lounge - Sign In With School ID, 3 Hour Limit'. It's empty with the exception of a woman leaning against one of the doors, looking rather bored. She's dressed in black pants and a white blouse, though it looks out of place on her skinny frame. Her face is long and covered with dark eyeshadow that alerts Roxy to the fact that she's probably a witch, or at least attended Cloud Tower at some point (well, that and the fact her hair is green). But her smile is surprisingly soft, especially when it lands on Mirta. "You need to start showing up on time to things."

Roxy glances at Mirta, and is surprised to find her cheeks a light shade of pink. "You should be used to it; an entire childhood and a year of rooming together didn't teach you that?"

"Oh it did, but I always assumed you'd grow out of it. But then again I said that about your neutrality towards fairies, and look how well that turned out." She gives Mirta a one-armed hug. "What's up, punk?"

"Nothing much, Luce." Mirta squeezes her hand. "Thanks for letting us commandeer this place for a morning."

"Eh, don't mention it. No one uses these things on the weekend, anyway. Too busy working out." The other woman gives a look of disgust. "Teenage boys."

Roxy finds herself smiling. "If you find them so repulsive, why do you teach?"

"Because they're not just teenage boys, they're teenage boys with rich families. Which means a decent paycheck for me. Plus I'm only part time."

The woman signs her name on one of the sheets and opens the door. The room is sleek, with a few computers on one end and a collection of couches, chairs, and tables at the other. There's also a small bookshelf with a coffee maker on top of it (Roxy makes a note to find the coffee cups as soon as possible). "I know it says there's a three hour limit, but so long as the testosterone monkeys decide studying is for Sunday nights, you'll be fine. Be in my office if you need me, okay?"

"Thanks, Lucy. Any idea where we should start with these?" She holds out some of the book scans to her, and Roxy tries to process where she's heard that name before.

"Hmm…this is a language from Popularis, right?"

"Think so; apparently pixies there speak it. We learned about it in Ediltrude's class."

"Right, right. God, that windbag never shut up…" Lucy smiles a bit and grabs a pen from her pocket, and scribbles some things on the page. "These though...check any languages from Domino...they look like they're from there."

Mirta takes the page back. "Great. Send anyone looking for us our way, unless it's Daphne."

The other woman laughs. "Got it. Later guys."

Roxy hears Roy say a goodbye, and she has enough common sense to wave before it's just the three of them in the room. She turns to Mirta, who's currently punching things into one of the computers. "How do you know her again?"

"She's my best friend," Mirta responds easily. "I mention her a lot; we survived Cloud Tower and the last few years together. Sometimes she hangs out on campus with me, but she doesn't really like Alfea."

"Icy called her your girlfriend, yesterday." The thought occur to Roxy and she says it out loud before she can stop herself.

Mirta's fingers stop typing for a moment, but quickly pick back up. "Icy's been making comments like that for years. I ignored them even _before_ she tried to kill me."

"Right. Of course. I know that - I mean, I _figured_ that -"

"Roxy."

"Yeah?"

"That guy from Earth you always talk to on the phone - Andy? How long have you been friends with him?"

Roxy blinks. She's never been asked that before. "I don't know. I met him in middle school, and he was a year ahead of me, so...ten years? Almost eleven?"

"And you've never dated him?"

"He was dating Bloom when we first met. I mean I've thought about it, and I wouldn't mind it, but…"

"It's just been too long of a friendship to look towards something more?" Mirta fills in.

The pink haired fairy nods, and for the first time she feels like she and Mirta share some common ground besides the Winx. "Yeah. Don't ruin a good thing."

"Yeah," Mirta smiles, but it's tired. "So there's the answer to that question. And now that it's out of the way," she grabs a small stack of paper and holds it out for Roxy to take. "You can get busy."

She smirks in response, and takes the stack to start translating.

The next hour or so is quiet, save for the sound of clacking keyboard keys or pages being turned. Through some detailed translating from an ancient elf language, Roxy realizes she has information on how to get into the Legendarium. She vaguely recalls Baltor talking about wands, and she flips through the pages before she comes to one where she recognizes the word. A bit more translating lets her know they're called the Ancestral Wands; ancient artifacts that contain teleportation magic. They'd been fought over during some war long ago, and as a result a neutral party had taken them to store for a later date. A place called…

"Tir Nan Og?" Roxy gasps at the words on the page. "The Ancestral Wands that'll get us into the Legendarium are in Tir Nan Og!"

Roy looks up, surprised. "You're sure?"

"Pretty sure; the page cuts off, but I know it says 'Tir Nan'. How many other places in the dimension have that name?"

"Can't think of any off the top of my head," Mirta swivels around in her chair to face them. "Daphne will know for sure, but that sounds like the right place. Does it say anything else?"

She looks down at the page. "Well, I think only fairies can use the wands; something about converting Winx to energy to power them."

Roy nods. "My book mentioned something like that. So it looks like it's just you three going in there, then. Maybe I can set up a spell to communicate with you while you're in there."

"I like that plan." Roxy says. "What'd you find, Mirta?"

The redhead grins. "Well, I'm no expert, but I _think_ my book talks about how to break someone free of the Lengdarium's control."

Roxy's jaw drops. "No way."

"Yes way."

Roy stands and goes to look at Mirta's screen. "I didn't think we had any information like that in here."

"I didn't either; it's an old language from Graynor - one of Linphea's inhabited moons. The computer can only give me a rough translation on a handful of words. Plus this is only a partial copy - the book is in a secured vault on Isis."

"Odd place for it to end up."

"Hardly," Mirta says, and Roxy hears a creaking sound behind her. "Isis has some of the most powerful magic in the dimension; almost half the population has magic power of some kind. They're an ideal place to protect ancient text."

"Well _damn_; someone did pay attention in school after all."

Roxy's head snaps to the door. She realizes the creaking sound was in fact said door _opening_, especially since it was now occupied by an unfamiliar boy dressed in street clothes. His eyes are light and his hair black, pulled into a small ponytail that reminds her of Helia.

The animal fairy turns to Mirta, only to find her grinning. "Unlike you, loser."

The boy smiles back and walks into the room, going straight to Mirta and giving her a tight hug. "Lucy said you were in here; gotta admit I'm surprised to see you here and not at Alfea."

"Had no choice; top secret missions and all," Mirta lightly places a hand on his shoulder. "How are you, Jared?"

"Currently in the last year of my advanced hero training, so...you know, wanting to kill myself." His smile quickly turns serious. "And you?"

"It's a tough road, but easier when you can focus on maiming those damn witches."

He chuckles. "Heard you had a run in with them. Tell me you got in a few hits for me?"

"Before they pulled a fast one on us." Mirta smiles and turns to the other two. "Roxy, Roy, meet Jared. Born and raised on Solaria, and like the rest of us suffered through Stella's insane dating schemes."

Roxy finds herself smiling. "You knew Stella?"

"Knew? Who do you think helped her pass Potions 211?" his voice carries a light tone. "In all seriousness, though, I did tutor her. But as far as dating schemes...she did set me up on a blind date with Musa once when I was like seventeen."

"Riven never mentioned that before," Roy says skeptically, giving the other man a onceover.

Jared laughs. "Riven never knew. It was really just a one-time thing. But not long after that Stella tried to set me up with _another_ friend of hers," he motions to Mirta, and the redhead laughs. "_That_ also didn't work, but we're still friends. Though looking back, that may have been the biggest bruise to Stella's ego."

"She got over it," Mirta assures. "Especially after _someone_ got a fiancé."

"Guilty." Jared says, and Roxy wonders why it is Mirta gets along with people so well despite almost being a witch, and Daphne seems so cold despite being raised as a royal. "And...wow, you've got a lot of papers in here. I just wanted to pop in and say hi - I didn't realize I was interrupting."

"Don't worry," Mirta turns to push her desk chair in. "I need a break anyway."

"Whatcha working on?"

Mirta doesn't respond, so Roxy jumps in. "We're trying to get some information on the Legendarium; accessing it, locking it, anything really."

"To defeat that girl and the witches?"

"...Her name's Selina, actually."

Jared nods, though he seems uninterested. He picks up the pages Roxy had been translating and flips through them. "Seems like you've made progress."

"We have -"

"So what's the plan for getting close enough to the Legendarium to access it?"

She blinks. "What?"

"The Ancestral Wands." he points to a few sentences on the page Roxy had skimmed over. "They have to be in a certain range to the Legendarium in order for you to get into it. Especially if you guys don't have certain fairy forms."

She opens her mouth, then closes it. "Well, I -"

"I didn't know you could read ancient elf," Roy speaks up instead. Roxy gives him a grateful look.

"I have an emphasis in Magical History." Jared responds simply.

_Along with being a know-it-all_, Roxy wants to say, but holds her tongue. She snaps at Daphne enough - she doesn't need more enemies, especially a friend of Mirta's. "Well is there anything you could suggest to help us?"

"Hmm…Mirta; you got a map of the schools around here somewhere?"

"Yeah, one second…" Mirta digs through a stack of papers before handing one over.

"Thanks… I think Red Fountain has an old weapon storage outpost near Cloud Tower. It was near one of the tunnel entrances."

Mirta glances over his shoulder at the map. "Oh yeah, I remember that thing. A bunch of fairies would meet outside there to makeout with their boyfriends. A whole bunch of junior witches made a game out of it; whoever spooked them off first didn't have to do laundry for a week."

"Right. That should get you in close enough proximity to the book to access it."

"That's much appreciated," Roy says, taking a seat on one of the couches. "But it only solves one of our problems. We still needs those wand things to access the Legendarium, _and_ there's still the issue of getting Selina out of Acheron's grasp."

As soon as he stops talking, a knock sounds on the door.

Everyone looks at each other. "Didn't know it was a party," Mirta says with a small grin.

"I've got it," Roxy says, heading to the door. Roy follows behind. "Did you tell Daphne we were coming here?" she whispers to the blond. Lucy would've just barged in without the courtesy, and Roxy can't think of anyone else who'd want to visit.

"No," Roy answers. "We thought it'd be best to fill her in later."

Roxy raises an eyebrow and opens the door.

And after a moment, has to look down to see the new figure in the doorway. "Miele?"

The young girl from Linphea gives a shy wave. She looks about as put together as Roxy felt (which is to say, not well) in jeans and a green crop top she's seen Flora wear in old pictures, with her hair in one of those messy buns every tween in Gardenia seems to have. There are bags under her eyes. "Sorry for showing up unannounced. I went to your suite and your roommate said you'd left with Mirta and Roy to do some research. I figured if you weren't at Alphea and Cloud Tower hates non-witches on the grounds, this would be the next best place to look."

Roxy and Roy exchange a glance. "That's...some very impressive deduction."

She looks pleased. "Thank you."

"Where's your buddy?" Roy asks, glancing down the hall. "I'd like to keep my other eye intact today."

"Nex is still on Linphea. He's helping with the...arrangements. He's not coming to get me until tonight."

Roxy picks up on the meaning. "I was sorry to hear about that."

"Yeah. He was a nice kid."

"Guys?" Mirta calls from in the room. "Who is it?"

Roy smiles and motions for the young fairy to step inside. "We have a visitor. You remember Mirta, right? And this is Jared."

Mirta seems as surprised as the others. "Miele. This is...unexpected."

"I know. I'm sorry for just barging in. It's just that we didn't get a proper goodbye last night with everything, and I didn't get a chance to apologize -"

"Apologize?" Mirta and Roxy said together.

Miele gave a sheepish grin. "I know I wasn't much help fighting off the Trix. I was hoping there was some way I could make it up to you guys."

Roxy finds herself smiling a bit; the young girl's attitude reminds her of herself. Especially when she first became aware of her powers, but wasn't able to help the Winx in battles. "That's really sweet of you, Miele, but you don't need to apologize for anything. Fairy training doesn't involve hand-to-hand combat. Especially for someone so young."

"Flora went up against the Trix when she was my age, though." Miele's voice sounds like she's spent a lot of time thinking about this. "I want to do my part to defeat them. Especially now that she can't fight anymore."

"Helping in a battle doesn't always involve a battlefield," Jared speaks up for the first time since the young girl's come in. His tone is kind. "I know you must want to avenge your sister, but maybe the way to do that is different from your original idea."

Mirta's eyes widen. "Like helping with translations."

Miele's eyes narrow in confusion. Roxy's widen in realization. "You're from Linphea. That means you've spent time studying its dead languages."

"Yes?"

"Like the ancient languages from Graynor?" Roy picks up on the girl's idea, and shuffles through the pages for the ones Mirta was translating. "Can you read this?"

Miele looks it over carefully, mouthing a few words before looking back up. The smile on her face makes Roxy's heart feel a little lighter. "I'm a little rusty, but I can read it. If you want a detailed translation that'll take… maybe a day or two?"

"How long can you stay in Magix?"

"The school cancelled classes for the time being. As long as I let my parents know and I have a place to stay…"

"I know Nova was planning to go back to Solaria this week," Roxy says. "Her parents are worried about the Trix being holed up so close to Alfea. I'll double check, but I'm sure she won't mind if you crash with me. You can think of it as a mini exchange week."

Her eyes lit up. "Really? That'd be great! I'll call Nex and let him know; maybe he'll hang out in Magix for a few days, too."

"Just so long as he isn't rooming with me," Roxy hears Roy grumble.

Mirta grins. "I'm sure he'd much rather prefer rooming with Thoren. Plus those two may work out a way to explain this all to Daphne without her flipping her lid."

"And I'll double-check those blueprints on the weapons storage post," Jared adds with a sly grin of his own. "Looks like we've got ourselves a little team here."

Roxy glances around the room; one Linphea College student, one former witch, a yacht-driver-turned-Specialist, and one _actual_ Specialist with years of advanced training under his belt. Not to mention herself - the accidental princess of Earth, Daphne, Thoren, and Nex. It certainly didn't sound like any team Roxy knew of - except maybe in one of those horrible action movies Andy seemed to like. The word 'team' also left an odd taste in her mouth - that words had always brought up mental images of the Winx and Specialists, working together to save the world. In comparison, they seemed like a group tossed together due to circumstance, connected only by acquaintance.

Along with an enemy far more powerful than they were.

Roxy gives a little smile and laugh. "Some team we are right now. A whole bunch of ragtag nobodies."

Roy smirks. "Aren't those the best kind of teams?" He notices Roxy's hesitance to answer, and the smirk softens. "How about this then; we keep the ragtag team _only_ until we get rid of the Trix and set your friend free. It's a win-win - keep the world a safer place and get some good old fashioned revenge for those we lost. And after that, we go our separate ways and - if we want to - never speak to each other again. Nobody wants to try and be the Winx here."

The bluntness of the statement is surprising, but it also lifts a lot of weight off Roxy's chest. "Of course."

Miele nods, slowly. "I can live with that."

"The hell, what've we _been_ doing the past week and a half?" Mirta smirks, and Roxy grins in response.

"I'm just here to help with the outpost," Jared holds his hands up in surrender. "But if you wanna call me in for a final battle or to give Icy a right hook...I won't stop you."

There's a calmness that falls over the room, as though everyone knows their place and is happy with it. For the first time in a long while, Roxy feels at ease with the world. And, in a small part of her mind, she can't help but think the girls would be proud. "Okay then," she says. "Let's get what we need and get out of here. I don't know about you guys, but I could use a nap."

* * *

_**In the next chapter:**_ _Member number 5 joins the team, a debate about the term 'team' occurs, and Tir Nan Og joins the war._


	8. Down the Rabbit Hole

_**In the last chapter: **__After a day of research at Red Fountain, the team comes to an agreement; Roxy will look into Tir Nan Og's connection to the Legendarium, Miele will help figure out how to reverse Acheron's hold on Selina, Nex and Thoren will convince Daphne the plan won't fall apart._

* * *

Chapter 7: Down the Rabbit Hole

* * *

"Well? Questions, comments, _compliments_?"

Daphne blinks at the pages in her hand. "I'm...impressed."

Roxy can't help but smile. All throughout class that day she'd been waiting for the two thirty bell to meet up with Mirta and Roy and deliver their Red Fountain findings. There was a giddy feeling that seemed to be trapped in her stomach that reminded her of when she first started controlling her powers. It was a sense of accomplishment and pride. "It was a group effort, really."

She looks up from the pages. "The three of you?"

"Well, my friend Jared stopped by and suggested using the old weapons bunker to get close enough to the Legendarium, and Lucy gave some suggestions of where to look for translations."

"...That name is familiar."

"She works part time at Red Fountain; she's a good friend."

Daphne nods, and looks back down at the translated books discussing Tir Nan Og. "And these...wands, will give us a transformation that can access the Legendarium?"

"It's called Mythix."

"Fitting."

"Hey, blame Arcadia for the names," Roy quips. "At least it gives us a fighting chance of stopping the Trix."

"It does. Though I am curious as to what _you_ think you'll be doing. You can't enter the Legendarium with us, if these papers are correct."

Roy shrugs. "I'll find other ways to help. I didn't spend years training on Andros for nothing."

Daphne purses her lips and nods again, but Roxy notices her fingertips turning white from an excessive grip on the papers. "When did you want to get to Tir Nan Og?"

"As soon as possible. My mom was there about a month ago, and she said Nebula's gotten a task force together to try and fight the Trix."

"Like that'll do much good," Daphne mutters, and Roxy doesn't like that she's right. Daphne catches her eye and the look on her face softens. "However, I'm free for the rest of the afternoon. We can leave for there now if you'd like."

"Really? That'd be fantastic. I -"

A knock at the door cuts her off.

The blonde fairy raises an eyebrow. "It's open."

A second later the door swings open and a girl with curly red hair (barely held out of her eyes with a ponytail) walks into the room, out of breath and with a paper in her hand. She stops short when she notices there are unfamiliar faces in the room. "O-oh. I'm sorry, Professor. If this is a bad time I can come back…"

"No, don't be ridiculous, Alice. What can I do for you?" Daphne motions for her to come further into the room, shutting the door behind her with the same spell Roxy had seen her use when _she_ first came in to see Daphne. Roxy recognizes the girl now that she's closer - she was a year ahead, and spent a lot of time running around with Clarice (though Roxy had noticed they spent less time together as the years went on).

Alice was still breathing heavily, but managed to hand the papers off to Daphne. "I just needed to drop my paper off. I won't be in class Friday, and I wanted to make sure you had it."

Daphne nods and leafs through it. "Thank you, I'd almost forgotten. You're going to Red Fountain, aren't you?"

"You're going to Red Fountain?" Roxy echoes in disbelief.

The redhead shrugs, but her cheeks are pink. "Yeah. There's this group class Alfea and Red Fountain are doing this semester for magic-wielders; combat training and stuff. Tomorrow's our mid-semester exam."

"I remember hearing rumors about a class like that." Mirta says. "The older witches were always bitter they weren't a part of it, even though they didn't want to be caught dead with the fairies. I thought they got rid of it years ago."

"They did," Alice pauses for a second, as though debating to keep talking, but eventually decides to go on. "When I was in the class the Winx taught two years ago, Stella told us about when she was in it as a freshman - the first time, before Bloom and the others got here. It's how she met Brandon and the other guys. After that, I petitioned to Ms. Faragonda and Saladin to bring it back. Stella was my first signature, actually."

Roxy finds herself smiling. "You knew them, huh?"

"Sort of. I mean, not like _you_ _guys_ knew them," Alice gestures around the room. "But they taught me some stuff about honesty. And I saw the Winx take on the Wizards of the Black Circle when I first came to campus… they inspired me to really hone my powers and learn to fight."

Roy looks impressed. "You must've done some pretty hard training to get into a coed combat class."

"I did. And now I'm one of the top three in it - and the only girl."

Mirta gave a small nod of approval.

"I'm sure your fighting skills are very impressive, Alice. Thank you again for bringing this in." Daphne waves the paper and gives her a polite smile. "I'm stepping out in a few minutes, actually. If you have any other questions, just ask in class Monday."

She nods. "Yes, ma'am."

Alice turns and heads for the door, but stops about halfway there and turns back again. "Not that this is any of my business, ma'am - and please tell me if I'm overstepping - but how's it going? Battling against the Trix and all?"

Roxy's eyes widen. "How do you know about that?"

"Please - everyone's spreading the rumour that you guys went against them this weekend. Nova said she went to Princess Krystal's service and girls from Beta were praising you. And Beta hasn't said anything nice about Alfea since, well, forever. _And_ I heard the girl with the Trix is someone from Bloom's childhood, which means _you_ probably know them Roxy, and I'm sure that must be really tough and I was just concerned and I talk a _lot_ when I'm nervous so I'm really sorry."

Despite the rambling, Roxy and Roy exchange a grin. "You're quite a rumor mill, miss." Roy says. "You should be giving _us_ information instead of the other way around."

Alice blushes.

"But we're doing okay, to answer your question." Roxy smiles at her. "Thanks for asking. Not many people do that."

"Of course. Next time you see those witches, give them a good energy beam to the face." Alice pauses. "But do it with a reflection spell; Musa used to say that was a good way to catch Stormy off guard."

Roxy's jaw drops in surprise, and by the time it works again Alice is out the door.

The animal fairy turns to look at Daphne, who has started looking over Alice's paper. "She's...impressive." Roxy says after a moment.

"No."

Mirta, whose gaze had been with Roxy's on the door, snaps over. "What? How could you say that? She's beating out Red Fountain boys in a combat class."

"Not that," Daphne says, pushing the paper aside and rubbing her temples. "Alice's skills _are_ impressive, no doubt. But I _know_ that tone of voice, Roxy."

"What tone?" she asks, but she has a feeling she knows what Daphne is thinking, and it'd be a lie if Roxy wasn't considering the same thing.

"The same tone you had when you called Roy into this; the more the merrier team spirit. Alice will not be involved in this."

"Hey, I wasn't going to just sit around," Roy cuts in.

"And furthermore," Daphne pointedly ignores him. "I don't want Miele near this. I know she was on Linphea with us, but she's far too young."

Roxy, Mirta, and Roy exchange a glance. "Um."

When Roxy looks back at Daphne, her lips are in a thin line. "_Please_ tell me she's not here."

"...She came on her own accord, if that helps."

"It doesn't. Call her right now and tell her to go home."

"C'mon, Daphne, think of it as an exchange program for the kid; their school's shut down right now anyway," Mirta says.

"She'll become involved in some way, anyway. I won't have it, Mirta. There are several things I'm set in, and this is one."

"Nex and Thoren said they're both more than willing to come in and talk to you about it -"

Daphne's huff of annoyance cuts Roxy off. "And now you have the boys against me too? What a surprise."

Roxy's hands clench into fists at her side. "_What_ is your deal? I mean I figured you wouldn't be too thrilled, but I didn't expect a full on meltdown. We have a plan to stop this, and tons of people to back us up. How are you not happy?"

"We are _not_ the Winx Club!" Daphne shouts.

It's silent for a few seconds as her words settle into the air. "We are not," Daphne repeats again, more quietly. "We can get together a group of however many people, have whatever kind of power, and try as many asinine schemes as everyone's collective brains can muster, but we will _never_ be the Winx Club. And we will not be able to bring them back.

"In case you haven't noticed, this fight is unlike anything before. Lives don't matter; people have _died_. The more that become involved just run that risk higher. I didn't protect my entire planet once. Eighteen years of suffering is on my hands. I don't want to add to it."

All Roxy can do is stare at Daphne as she pinches the bridge of her nose, refusing to look up at anyone. After another shared look, Roy takes the plunge. "I wasn't aware you felt that way."

"Obviously."

Mirta bites her lip and hops up to sit on the edge of the desk. "Daphne… you _know_ we could never replace the Winx. Or the Specialists. That's not our goal. But -"

"I'm being overdramatic?" she lifts her head wearily, and for the first time Roxy notices the prominent bags under her eyes.

"No," Mirta says firmly. "you're not. I'm sure I'd feel the same way if Bloom was my sister. And I'd be pissed as hell no matter what _anyone_ told me."

Roy smiled lightly.

"And I'll tell you right now," Mirta continued, giving Daphne's forearm a squeeze. "I _don't_ want to be the Winx Club. I just want a year with no evil bad guys trying to take over the world. And once we kick the Trix to Kingdom Come and free Selina from that Acheron guy, I'm taking a nice, long, quiet vacation to...Roxy, where do earth people take nice, long, quiet vacations to?"

"Umm...the Caribbean?"

"The Caribbean then. No idea what's there, but I'm for it."

Daphne chuckled a little, finally standing up. "I think I may join you. Killing those witches won't bring Bloom back, but I suppose I'll sleep better at night."

"We all will." Roy says. "And the first step to sleeping better is finding out more about those wands. Which means heading to Tir Nan Og. Right, Roxy?"

The pink haired girl nods. "Sounds like a plan. Where are we portaling from?"

"Your dorm?" Mirta asks. "That way it'll be harder to pick up?"

"Sounds good," Roxy opens the door to the classroom and steps outside.

It doesn't get very far, stopping after a few feet with a _thud_ and a yelp. Alice jumps to the side, rubbing her elbow and somehow keeping a grip on her cellphone at the same time. "Sorry, sorry," she says. "I got caught up replying to some texts and kind of didn't expect you to come out this way…"

Daphne, who'd slipped out the door behind Roxy, hold up a hand. "Alice, I have spent more than enough time awkwardly lounging around doorways to know when someone's eavesdropping. But that has nothing to do with my next question." A smile slowly spreads across her face. "Ever been to Earth?"

* * *

"I swear it's not normally like this," Roxy says as Alice steps out of the portal and immediately looks up at the overcast sky. "Tir Nan Og is off the coast of a place called Ireland, but there's a spell that keeps it nice here. I guess you have to let clouds in sometimes, though."

"Based on what's been happening, the fact that _you've_ never seen it like this is worrying." Roy glances at Roxy over his shoulder.

"I've seen it like this. Just…" she trails off. The last time it stormed on Tir Nan Og was the day the wizards killed Nabu. "The main palace is up ahead. We can ask Nebula when we get there."

"Is your mother coming?" Mirta asks.

"Maybe. She wasn't sure she was going to get here in time."

"Roxy."

She glances over her shoulder at Alice, gripping her forearms. "Something doesn't feel right about this place." the redhead says. "Palladium taught us to listen to the Voice of Nature and everything...and it sounds scared."

"And cold." Daphne adds bitterly as a breeze blows through, taking some leaves from the trees.

Mirta sighs and snaps her fingers. After a moment and a blinding light, her Enchantix takes form over her jeans and crop top. "I just wanted a nice, normal afternoon with no fighting."

The winds picks up in full force, and Roxy knows this is Stormy's doing. She transforms herself and starts beating her wings to keep from being knocked back. "Someone should call Miele and the other boys! They could help us!"

"I can get through to Thoren," Roy yells over the noise. "You guys go ahead! But be careful!"

"You too!"

Daphne turns to look at Alice, who'd long since transformed into her own Enchantix. "Do you think you can handle these witches? It's not quite like your combat course."

Alice looks a bit worried, but nods. "As long as I'm not fighting alone. I'll have your back."

"Good," Roxy says, watching four black dots slowly make their way closer and take on human shapes through the dust. "Because I think your midterm is starting a few days early."

* * *

_**In the next chapter:**_ _Breakthroughs are attempted. Some are failures, some are successful, and one is a damned miracle_.

**A/N: **The bad news is this took five months to update. The good news is this was a major point of writer's block and now I am _finally _past it. The better news is that the next chapter is already ⅓ done, so it is _highly_ unlikely it will take another five months to update. Thanks for your patience.  
**Shameless Promo A/N: **Because it's been so long, some of you may not be aware that I have a podcast about Winx Club now running with xBloomStarx, the other girl that writes Sparxshipping stuff. If that's your cup of tea, hit up my profile page to learn how to tune in.


	9. Time Bomb Set Into Motion

_**In the last chapter: **__Daphne had apprehension about letting Alice help the group defeat Selina and the Trix. After some prodding from Mirta, she was swayed in favor of it; and just in time, as the Trix and Selina are attacking Tir Nan Og_

* * *

Chapter 8: Time Bomb Set Into Motion

* * *

"You just _can't_ stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, can you Pinky?" Icy's voice is like a blizzard in December, and Roxy does her best to stand tall against it. "You'd think you would've learned, watching where it got Bloom."

"Bloom or no Bloom, Tir Nan Og is _my_ home," Roxy bites back. "And you're trespassing."

"Oh, we're terrified of the consequences," Stormy laughs, and lightning strikes behind her.

A bolt of magic hit her arm and sends her off balance. Roxy looks back at Mirta, who's tossing another burst of red energy between her hands like a ball. "Do you think we're afraid to fight you?" she asks.

"You're too naïve to know better," Darcy quips. "This is such a pretty little island; it'll be a shame to tear it to pieces."

"Are you going to come down and fight," Nex says, "Or do you plan to stay up there all day talking?"

"Or letting others talk for you," Roxy yells, her eyes on Selina. The blonde hasn't spoken since the other four came into view. "You always seemed so much smarter than the Trix, Selina. What do you have to say?"

Her eyes move to Roxy's, slowly. For a moment Roxy almost wishes she'd kept quiet; there's a darkness in her eyes that scares her more than the Trix.

"Oh Roxy," Selina's voice is a low drawl. "You think we don't _know_ you and your little cavalry planning to enhance your powers and get into the Legendarium?"

Daphne bites her lip.

"The fact that you're even _trying_ such a stupid idea is laughable. But I'm feeling generous today, so I'll make a deal with you; find me in your heart on this island and defeat me, and I'll let you walk away from here with the Mythix wands."

Roxy can only assume the Mythix wands are what grant access to the Legendarium (she doesn't even begin to decipher Selina's heart statement). "Running isn't going to help you win."

"Oh, I'm not running. Think of this as more of a…test. You have twenty minutes."

There's another bolt of lighting, and Selina – and the Legendarium – are gone. Roxy blinks at the spot the blonde was in, but doesn't have time to look at it for too long because Icy starts launching icicles at her. Alice grabs her arm and they duck behind a tree, the sound of wood splitting echoing through the previously silent forest.

"You okay?" Alice's asks. She's in her Enchantix – a blue and pink romper with long sleeves and butterfly wings.

Roxy nods and rubs her shoulder to fight off the cold. "Will you be able to take the Trix?"

"Yes. Daphne was yelling about drawing them back to the palace. With the rest of the fairies here, we should be able to at least chase them off." Alice's optimism is refreshing, and Roxy can't help but smile at it. "What about you; do you know where to find Selina?"

"…No," Roxy admits. "And it's a big island; if I go to one end and she's not there, I won't be able to get to the other. I could go to the heart of the island like she said, but that's the palace."

"Selina didn't say _the_ heart; she said _your_ heart." Alice points out. "You said your mother may be here?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't sure she was going to make it. If Selina was planning her attack in advance, she'd need a foolproof place to hide out. She'd need someone who was guaranteed to be here, who couldn't leave or –"

Roxy stops mid-sentence, not because she's out of ideas but because she realizes _exactly_ where Selina would go that would be just personal enough to warrant she was serious, and tasteless enough to warrant some information given by the Trix.

"Roxy? Roxy?" Alice is giving her a worried look. "You know where she might be?"

The animal fairy takes to the air. "Yes; I'll be in the south woods. Come find me if you need me."

Alice looks ready to argue, but bites her lip and nods instead. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes. But I can't say the same for Selina."

* * *

Roxy has been scared before. She was scared on her first day of high school. She was scared when Ogron tried to use her to unlock the Black Circle. She was scared when she started at Alfea with minimal training with her powers.

None of that compares to the _ice_ that sits in her stomach and flows through her veins as she lands in a clearing in the southern part of the island, and takes in the sight before her.

Namely, she's looking at Nabu, floating on a bed of purple magic among a field of blue flowers, his face looking as peaceful and young as the day Roxy said goodbye to him. But what _isn't_ peaceful is Selina standing above him, holding his wrist in her hand with a thoughtful look on her face. The Legendarium is at her feet, open to a page Roxy can't define from so far away.

"His pulse is strong," Selina says as Roxy lands on the ground. The blonde is slowly lowering Nabu's wrist to the magic cloud, and the tenderness of the gesture makes Roxy want Aisha alive just so they could both punch Selina in the face. "His breathing's steady, he has a good supply of magic in that staff he's holding…there's no reason he should be in such a state."

"Get away from him," Roxy's tone is slow, carefully enunciating every word.

Selina smirks lightly, reaching down to take the Legendarium and walk towards her. "Ogron, right? That's the name of the man who did this?"

"Like _you_ care. I can at least thank Ogron for not killing Nabu."

"Aw, don't tell me you're still upset over all that? Personally speaking, I think this," she gestured back to Nabu, "is a far worse fate. At least you _know_ all your friends are dead. The fear of moving on; that at any moment, an old part of your life could reappear? That seems far more terrifying."

Roxy's hands balled into fists. "Are you _listening_ to yourself? What kind of brainwashing did the thing in that book do to you? You've _killed_ at least ten people in the last few weeks, and for what? You think if you defeat the rest of us the dimension will just let you take over?"

She obviously strikes a nerve, because Selina throws a bolt of magic at her that Roxy narrowly avoids. The tree behind her isn't so lucky.

"You know _nothing_ about me. And you never have," Selina snaps, her voice missing the cool tone it'd taken on earlier.

"I know this isn't the girl from middle school," Roxy says. "The one that kicked our butts in English class. Who made jokes in the back of Mr. Monroe's American History class when she thought no one was listening. _That's_ the girl I know, Selina. And I know she'd never do this."

"That girl is gone. She's _been_ gone, ever since I found out what _real_ power and _real_ friends are."

"You think the _Trix_ are your friends? I heard you say you're ready to betray them once you get what you want… that is if they don't beat you to it first."

There's another blast, but Roxy deflects it with much more ease. She knows she's hitting nerves, and something about that makes her feel better. "Or maybe they'll get the jump on you first! They've done it before. Hell, maybe even Acheron will turn on you once you're done being his puppet."

"Shut _up_!"

Roxy throws a blast for a change, and it hits Selina's arm, knocking her back a few paces. "None of that has to happen though. You can end this now."

"Oh can I?" she spits, and fires magic bolts back. Roxy dodges them easily, but she can tell Selina's emotions are getting the best of her.

"Yes you can! If we work together - all of us - we can stop the Trix _and_ Acheron. Maybe even lock them up together in the book," Roxy watches the energy slowly fade from Selina's hands. "I don't think you're weak, Selina. I _know_ you're strong. And you're strong enough to see that the people around you are _using_ you. There's been enough violence and enough death these last few weeks. Let's work together and end it now."

"You...you don't mean that -"

"Yes I do. You know that."

The surprise is evident on Selina's face. After a moment Roxy watches her push her shoulders back and compose herself. "Well, Morgan, I have to admit I -"

She doesn't finish her sentence.

From out of thin air, a string of magic beams zero in and wrap around Selina, encasing her in yellow magic. Before she or Roxy can blink, the spell throws her against a tree, then onto another one, and another, before tossing her in the air and slamming her against the ground. She screams in pain, and Roxy can only watch in horror as she hears the sounds of bones snapping. The magic binds pin her arms and legs to the ground, and when Selina lifts her head, blood trickles from her mouth.

"You're going to _pay_ for what you've done." A cold voice says.

Roxy turns her head towards it, hoping to find anything _but_ what she expects. But Daphne is still there, magic in her hands and a scowl on her face. Roxy hates the 'if looks could kill' cliché, but in all honesty if looks _could_ kill Selina would be in the Earth's core.

And based on the look Selina's giving Roxy, _she_ would be there with her.

"You lying little bitch," Selina spits. "And to think I almost believed you."

"No, I swear I-"

Daphne fires another round of bolts, and Roxy's words are cut off. Selina manages to summon a shield in time, and magic bounces all around the clearing, cutting a few inches of bushes and blowing holes in trees.

Something clicks in Roxy's head, and she darts over and puts a shield around Nabu's comatose form, covering both of them in a pink shield. A few branches bounce of the top of the shield, and Roxy can't help but glare at Daphne.

_So much for having this under control_.

"Okay, okay; think. What do we do?" Roxy mutters to herself. She knows Nabu can't hear her, but pretending he can helps. "Daphne and Selina are going to tear this place apart and possibly hurt you, but we need them back to where the Trix are keeping everyone else busy, and we need to drain Selina's powers temporarily."

She rubs her temples. "I don't have that kind of power though. I would with something else but Daphne's gone psycho and no one else is around and _you're_ in a coma -"

There's a rattling sound, like magic charging up.

Baffled, Roxy looks over at Nabu. Nothing's changed on him specifically, but the noise in question is from the staff in his hand. Roxy raises and eyebrow and takes another look at it. The crystal (at least she thinks it's a crystal - she never asked) in the center moves slightly, tapping against the spear and creating the sound she'd heard.

"Selina said there was still magic in this, didn't she? I mean after all you haven't used it in two years so it's had nothing to do, and with all the magic in the air now…"

The crystal rattles again, and Roxy looks at it for a second more before she slowly takes it out of Nabu's hand. He doesn't react at all, but she'd like to think somewhere in his head, he's approving of her decision.

Roxy smiles, and leans down to give Nabu a quick kiss on the forehead. "I'll give this back, ok?" she promises, and then turns to the battle happening outside the bubble.

Daphne and Selina are still going at it likes cats and mice, and Roxy thinks back to the spell she wants to use. Slowly, the spear starts glowing in her hand. Roxy lets Nabu's magic overtake her, and it's comforting and powerful feeling, like the current of the ocean. It slowly builds up within her, and when it reaches peak, she drops the shield around her and Nabu. "Hey, brainiac!" Roxy yells, remember the old taunt Mitzi used to use for Selina.

The blonde's head whips around, her face set in a rage that dissolves once she sees the spear in Roxy's hand.

"I'd hang on to something if I was you!"

The three of them disappear in a cloud of magic.

* * *

Nabu's staff spits them out at the cliffside they'd originally arrived on. She sees Mirta and Alice transformed with some of the members of the guard, standing in a semi-circle facing outward. Roy's there too, looking out of breath and wielding a weapon of some kind with Andros' insignia on it.

The Trix are nowhere in sight.

Roxy had felt one of Selina's blasts hit her before the staff teleported them all. She tastes blood in her mouth and sees her left arm covered in welts, but other than that feels alright. After a moment she makes out Daphne, lying on her back. The girl looks dazed, but her fairy form is still intact. Selina's further away, looking pale and breathing heavily. The Legendarium is in her hand, closed. Even from a distance, Roxy can tell the staff has taken most of her magic supply.

The animal fairy glances over at Mirta. "My mother?"

Mirta nods. "Not here. But safe. Nebula got hurt, but they think she'll be okay."

She nods and focuses in on Selina again. She thought it would take her a while to recover, but to her surprise she's standing again, albeit wobbly on her feet. She glares at Roxy, and after a few moments manages to speak. "Well, I believe this can be counted as a draw."

Roxy's eyes narrow. "You're giving up? I thought you were only retreating when I beat you."

"I know when to stop pushing myself. You've gotten another few weeks to live, Roxy. Enjoy it while you can."

The blood builds up in her mouth, and Roxy spits it out in Selina's general direction. "Gee, thanks. Your generosity is _overwhelming_."

In response, Selina's lips form a thin line. "You should be careful, Morgan. Before something else of importance is taken from you."

There's a flash of lighting, and a clap of thunder, and Selina's gone.

Roxy lets out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding in, and lets her transformation fall away. Out of the corner of her eye, she watches Daphne's fade as well, and she slowly raised herself to a sitting position. She looks devastated. "Roxy -"

"No," she cuts her off harshly, leaning back against the cool grass. "Not yet. I'm hot and sweaty and powerless and I keep hearing this buzzing sound in my ears."

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Alice pause. "I do too."

"And your pocket's glowing," Roy adds, a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

_Cellphone_, Roxy realizes. Why does everyone keep calling her after major battles? Can't she just breathe for a few minutes?

The buzzing stops, and after about a minute starts up again. Roxy sighs and reaches into her pocket with her good hand, and pulls out the phone, lifting it above her head to see it from the ground.

Roxy narrows her eyes at the screen. She's never seen an 808 area code before. "Hello?"

There's a pause on the other end of the line. "Roxy Morgan?" a female voice finally asks.

"Speaking. And who is this?"

"Finally - Jim I got her!" the voice yells to someone on the other end, and Roxy faintly hears a different male voice responds. "Miss Morgan, I'm so happy to get a hold of you. This is Dr. Taili Davis - I'm one of the leads at Pali Momi Hospital."

The pieces click in her head, and her stomach drops. "Pali Momi in Honolulu?"

"Correct. I'm in charge of one of your friends, Riven…well, there's no last name, obviously, but -"

"Yeah, I know who you mean."

"I apologize if this is unexpected, but your contact information was left for us by a Rio Sanchez…"

"No that's alright, I knew it was left. I've just been..." Roxy sits up and glances around at the wreckage from the battle. Apparently the Trix had given her friends a run for their money. "Busy, I guess. So this is about Riven?"

Roy's head snaps up, and Roxy holds up a finger as the woman continues speaking. "Yes. Well, his condition…I don't quite know how to describe what's happened. We knew this was a possibility in a comatose state, we just didn't expect it this quickly…"

The combination of fatigue and the general horror and gore of the last few weeks takes Roxy's mind to a dark place. She stands and goes over to properly sit on one of the broken log stumps while trying to calm her violently beating heart. Selina's voice rings in ears.

_You should be careful, Morgan. Before something else of importance is taken from you._

A shadow passes over her, and she looks up to see Roy, a sad smile on his face and a hand outstretched. Roxy smiles and takes it, squeezing hard. First the Winx, the other Specialists, then Krystal and now maybe even Nebula… she knows how this goes. There are five stages to loss, and Roxy knows them well. Denial. Anger. Compensating. Depression. Acceptance. She doesn't even bother with the first four anymore.

"Is he dead?" She finally manages to ask. "Or is it looking like he's going to go soon?"

There's another pause. "Oh no. Quite the opposite, Miss Morgan. Your friend is awake."

* * *

_**In the next chapter:**_ _A conversation occurs. One which could change everything_.


	10. Hello How've You Been?

_**In the last chapter: **__After a fight on Tir Nan Og, Roxy receives a call and finds out Riven's woken up on Earth._

* * *

**Chapter 9: Hello How've You Been?**

* * *

Roxy stops in Gardenia just long enough to change clothes and grab Andy before she portals to Hawaii. Roy meets them there, the only other member of the team to do so. Mirta elects to stay on Tir Nan Og for a while to help clean up, and forces Daphne and Alice to follow her lead. Roxy knows Mirta isn't oblivious to what happened, and she appreciates the redhead's help keeping distance between her and Daphne.

After a quick stop at the nurses desk, Roxy finds Roy outside the room Riven's in, standing next to the door with a worried look on his face.

"Have you been inside?" Roxy asks as she approaches.

Roy looks up at her. "No. I was...too scared"

"So am I. I mean after everything I just thought…" she trails off and offers a weak smile. "I didn't think it could happen."

The blond nods. "Yeah. Are you going in there with us?" he nods at Andy.

"No. I've been drafted as moral support; for now, anyway."

Roy nods, and turns back to Roxy. "They said he's awake, whenever we're ready."

Roxy takes a deep breath. "Go grab me a coffee from the machine down the hall, and I'll check on him first?"

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Go."

He nods, and heads off.

Andy gives her a small smile, and Roxy managed one back before taking a deep breath, and pushing open the door to his room.

She hears beeping, the sound of a television, and smells cleaning products mixed with Pine-Sol. Another step, and the bed comes into focus. With a person in it. Roxy sees a figure, their eyes closed.

"...Riven?" she calls softly.

His eyes scrunch up, then open.

Roxy almost loses her breath. After all the pain she's endured the last few weeks; funerals, attacks, Daphne's sadness that seemed to radiate off her… it was like Riven was part of a dream. While he didn't look like his old self - there was a thin scar running from his ear to his cheek, and bandages covered part of his neck and arms - he was a lot better looking than the original footage that aired on the news channels.

"…R-Roxy?" his voice, surprisingly strong but laced with fatigue, brings her back to reality.

Roxy reaches down and grasps his hand, wiping her tears away with the other. "Hey. We thought we'd lost you."

"Gonna take a lot more than some water-dragon to take me down." he smiles weakly, then winces. "But he did some damage."

"Don't I know it," Roxy says. "You were in critical for a long time."

"Was I? These doctors won't tell me anything."

She bites her lip. "It's been almost a month; you were comatose. If I understood Dr. Davis, they didn't want to tell you anything that could potentially put you in distress. But the good news is you're awake, and they can transport you to a hospital in Magix. A round of healing and you should be back to normal."

"So then what's the bad news?"

Roxy smiles, but she isn't sure how legitimate it looks. "We don't have to worry about that right now."

"Don't give me that bull, Roxy." Riven squeezes her hand and then lets go to reach the bed remote. He presses a button and slowly elevates himself to a sitting position. "I asked how much damage the island took and they say 'don't worry about it'. I turn on the TV and they block the news channels so I can't see them. I want to know how my own _girlfriend_ is and they act like I didn't say anything."

Roxy opens her mouth, but gets cut off by a knock at the door. It slowly swings open and Roy walks in, carrying two cups of coffee. He grins at Riven. "The dead rise again."

"So I've been told," Riven nods at Roy and grips his free hand as Roxy takes her coffee. "Bet you've never been so glad to have ship maintenance duties in your life. Missed a hell of a brawl."

"That I did," Roy nods, but Roxy can see the discomfort on his face. He glances at Roxy, and she gives a silent nod, confirming his thought. _He doesn't know_.

"But I get the feeling," Riven continues, looking between the two, "there's more to this story I'm not hearing."

Roxy sighs. "Once the doctors heal you we can sit down and -"

"I'm a big boy, Roxy." Riven says, a usual sharpness coming back into his voice. "And I'm not dumb. If Musa's in bad shape or someone else is, you can tell me. I can handle it."

She tries to ignore the tears in the back of her eyes, but she feels one slip down her cheek. After a moment, she feels Riven's hand grip hers again on the bed. When she looks up at him, the small, hopeful smile he has makes her heart shatter even more. "Just tell me what's up."

All Roxy can do is hold his hand. "…Riven. You have to - Musa. She…she's gone."

The grip dissipates completely. "…What?"

Roy lays his hand over Roxy's. "They tried their best man, but after the attacks…she didn't have a chance."

There's a pause; one far longer than Roxy wanted. She wants to look at Riven's face, but she's too scared. Instead she focuses on their hands, one on the other, on the other. After what seems like hours, Riven speaks again. "You're telling me…she died."

Roxy shuts her eyes tightly. "I'm sorry," she says, barely above a whisper.

There is no way to tell how long it stays silent. There are no clocks that track the time. Roxy knows it's at least a few minutes. It could have been more. A string of beeps sound from somewhere down the hall. A palm leaf rustles against the window of the room. Whatever station the television is on starts showing a movie about surfers. None of it matters.

She doesn't look up until she feels Riven squeeze her hand. When she does she almost wishes she could take it back; his lips are in a thin line and moisture dots the corners of his eyes. Roxy doesn't remember ever seeing him cry - Musa said he had when Nabu went comatose, but not in front of everyone else. "I don't," he starts to say, and his voice cracks. "I don't - fuck. Fuck everything and everyone. Especially those witches. I should've slit Darcy's throat when I had the chance all those years ago."

"You can't blame yourself."

"Right, because I'm sure you haven't been doing that." He tries to sound angry, but his voice is still raw. "I shouldn't have stayed in the ship."

"Riven -"

"Bloom said it would be smart to have one or two of us out there on hoverboards to keep point. If someone got knocked into the water we could get them out fast. Sky and Brandon said yes and Timmy and Helia said no and I was the deciding factor and I just…I said we'd be able to help them on the ship." Riven's free hand slams into the hospital bed railing, but he doesn't even react beyond the already pained look on his face. There are tears going down his face, and he pulls out of Roxy's grip to swipe at them. "We saw Stel and Aisha go down together into the ocean, and we were flying towards them and there was just…this _sound_ like metal being ripped apart with screams. And there was wind and I remember being cold and then I was fucking here and Musa's fucking gone."

Roxy thinks back to the news footage, somehow still crystal clear in her head. "Selina and Trix were stronger than we ever thought. It's not your fault."

"Who the hell is Selina?"

"She's an ally of the Trix," Roy says, giving Roxy a break from the explanations. "But we think she's under a kind of mind control from an ancient book."

Roxy expects Riven to be angry, but to her surprise he only nods, then reaches back to grip their hands. "I know the feeling. A friend of yours, I take it Roxy."

"…Yeah. She was in school with Bloom and Andy more than me, though."

He nods again, and Roxy looks back down at their three hands, still intertwined.

Then: "Do the girls know?"

Roxy's head snaps up. "What?"

"Bloom and the others. Do they…" he voice cracks, and he clears his throat. "Do they know about Musa?"

It's like someone's punched her in the gut. She feels more tears prick at the corners of her eyes, and Roxy takes a deep breath to try and control her emotions. "Riv…it wasn't just her."

Riven's eyebrow raises, slowly. "What?"

"It wasn't just Musa that didn't make it."

She hears more than sees his sharp intake of breath. "Bloom?" she hears him ask, and the tone of utter defeat is enough for a few tears to go down her cheeks.

"It was a brutal fight," Roxy hears Roy speak up from behind her. "It's a miracle there were any survivors."

"If Musa and Bloom couldn't even survive how did anyone else? I mean they're the strongest out of the girls and God knows magic powers aren't a common thing at…" Riven stops suddenly, maybe realizing he was rambling. "Who else?" he asks, having the courage to look back at Roxy. "Who else didn't make it? Is Flora okay?"

Roxy fights to control her breathing again, and lets Roy answer again. "No," his voice is calm and empathetic, but steady. "No, she didn't make it."

"Brandon?"

"No. He -"

"Timmy? Stella -"

"Riven," Roy cuts him off as Roxy wipes the last few tears from her eyes. "Your ship was ripped in half by a sea monster and tossed into the Pacific Ocean in hurricane-like conditions. A storm with monsters powered by the most powerful witches in the dimension and a young girl with access to a power source none of us could ever dream of. No one realized how hopelessly outmatched you were until it was too late. I'm sorry. I -" Roy's voice finally falters, and Roxy can hear him sniff. "It's been really hard. It's hard because we didn't stop it and we couldn't help you."

Riven stares at them incredulously, tears silently spilling down his cheeks. "Then who _did_ make it? Who else besides me?"

Roxy bites her lip.

His eyes look to Roxy, and when he sees the look on her face his they go wide like a deer in headlights. There's a cold fear on his face, one so foreign and unlike Riven it scares her. She realizes that she will never forget Riven now, if not for this one look. "No," he says, very quietly.

"I -"

"Tell me I'm not the only one who made it. _Tell me_."

She opens her mouth, but no words come out. She doesn't know where she could even begin to answer his question in a way that wasn't blunt or unfeeling. The look on his face reminds Roxy of a phrase - _survivor's guilt_ \- and as she tries to process any way to handle it she also realizes she's been silent for too long.

Roxy knows from experience that no answer is an answer in itself.

It's no surprise when Riven pulls his hand out of her grasp. What is surprising is how steady the movement is. His hand doesn't shake as he brings it to massage his temple, hiding his eyes from view. His chest rises and falls normally, and though Roxy doesn't understand what the lines on the monitors he's hooked up to represent, nothing is spiking. Everything is eerily calm, and something about that is more frightening than a blow up. She knows Riven; blow ups are safe, swearing is the norm. The last three years have shown her brash, hit and ask questions later Riven. The last three minutes have given her this one. She doesn't like him.

More silence. Then;

"Get out," he says, very softly. "Get out right now."

"Riven I -"

"I said _get out_!" he snaps, shoving Roxy's hand off her shoulder with a force that sends it bouncing off Roy's chest. His eyes are wild with emotion. "Before I do or say something I'll regret Roxy, get the hell out of my sight."

"Okay, okay, we're going," it's Roy who speaks, taking Roxy's shoulder and physically guiding her out of the room. "The doctor's have our numbers when you want to see us, okay Riv?"

The only noise Roxy hears in response in the bang of someone smashing the bed railing.

She turns her head to get a glimpse of Riven before the door closes behind her. His knees are up to his chest, fingers clutching the bedding, and shoulders shaking in sobs.

* * *

"How is he?"

"Horrible," Roxy presses a hand to her forehead to fight the oncoming headache, going right past Andy to the vending machine. She needs caffeine, or maybe chocolate or maybe a hard slap to the face, she isn't sure. "He threw us out."

In the reflection of the machine, she sees Andy bite his lip. "Do you think maybe I should try and talk -"

"No!" she automatically snaps before realizing what she's done. "I mean - that came out wrong. I don't think he wants to talk to anyone right now."

She feels his hand touch her shoulder. "I get it. I just thought since we saw a lot of each other back then, and I talked with Musa so much, maybe it would help."

"I know, I know. Just...I think he needs time right now."

"You told him?"

Roxy sighs. "Should I not have?"

"Knowing Riven? I think you made the right call."

"If there even was a right call."

"Hey now," Andy's grip on her shoulder tightens. "You're doing the best you can. And I think you're doing great with it."

Roxy sighs and turns, leaning her head on Andy's shoulder. His arm goes around her waist. "I'm just so tired of everything being a train wreck. I want things to be normal again - even if it's just for a few minutes."

"I know."

It's silent for a few seconds before Roxy speaks up again. "Thanks for being moral support, Andy."

"That's what I'm here for. Moral support and indie rock."

"Yeah, okay. We'll be there in a minute. See you soon." A voice reaches Roxy's ears, and she lifts her head to see Roy closing his cell phone. She'd been in such a daze, she almost forgot he was there. "That was Mirta." he says, his gaze apologetic.

Roxy sighs. "Let me guess, they need to see us immediately?"

"We can probably spare an hour or two if you're not up for it."

"No, no, I'm up for it. Where are they?"

"A beach about a mile from here. We can walk or teleport, your choice."

Roxy glanced up at Andy. "Wanna meet Mirta and whoever else is there?"

Andy grins. "Sure."

* * *

_**In the next chapter: **More breakthroughs, (maybe) more fights, and the realization the team will have to turn to an unlikely ally for help._

_**A/N: **The original plan was for this and the next chapter to be one long one, but the more I thought about it the more I wanted this to stand alone. Hopefully, you felt the same._


End file.
